Reclaiming Sinnoh: The Underground Master
by NanobotEX
Summary: A mysterious newcomer has exploded onto the battling scene and is taking the Sinnoh League by storm. When chaos and upheaval overrun the League and the Pokémon Master is lost, it falls to two friends to work from the shadows and restore order to their beloved homeland.
1. Chapter 1 - A New Player

Annette Chapter 1 – A New Player

The crowd roared as the two finalists rose from the ground to take their places on opposite sides of the field. On one side stood a charismatic man with fierce eyes and a bright face, wearing a flashy white tuxedo over a black dress shirt; on the other side a slim, mysterious young woman with a jet black pixie haircut that matched her all-black, close fitting outfit; cargo capris pants and a black t-shirt under a black blazer with elbow-length sleeves. His confident aura was matched only by her quiet sense of danger.

"Ladies and gentlemen", the announcer's voice rang out across the boisterous stadium, "Welcome at long last to the highly anticipated final of this year's Iron Island Championships! The stakes; a spot in the one and only Lilly of the Valley Conference! This is the last chance for these trainers to qualify for Sinnoh's biggest tournament, which begins in just two short weeks!"

From the comfort of the VIP box, Cynthia smiled to herself. She listened respectfully to the now-familiar introduction to the battle. As expected, the crowd's energy grew as they awaited the battle impatiently; simultaneously hanging on the announcer's every word, yet also willing him to just get on with it. This was one of her favorite parts of being Champion; it was a perfect, cloudless day for a battle, the stakes were high, the competition would be stiff, and she got to watch what promised to be a spectacular contest. She tuned back in as the announcer finally initiated the battle proceedings;

"Now, the competitors: First, your reigning Iron Island Champion, winner of the last three consecutive titles at this most prestigious of qualifying tournaments! Please put your hands together for the Fire Tamer himself; the incomparable, the magnificent, the indomitable – DARIUS!"

The battling veteran and crowd favorite waved proudly, pumping his fist in the warm summer air, taking the noise of the crown in perfect stride, with fire already burning in his vivid eyes.

"DA-RI-US", the chant began to rise from the stands, "DA-RI-US! DA-RI-US!"

"Next", the announcer cut over the uproar with some difficulty, "Next, we have the phenomenon from Floaroma, the tournament newcomer who has taken each and every opponent by the scruff of the neck and obliterated them! She's undefeated, she's a total mystery, and she's here to measure herself against the best Iron Island has to offer! Give it up for….CORDIA!"

Cynthia chuckled at the general reaction. Some in the crowd, most likely the most devoted Darius fans, actually booed at the enigmatic young woman, though most gave a good-natured cheer. Visibly, she was the exact opposite of the famed Fire Tamer. He smiled and waved, he charmed and inspired, and he cast an aura by his very presence. She gave no reaction of any kind to the crowd, didn't even acknowledge her announcement. She'd been this way throughout the tournament; her stark demeanor putting off her opponents before she crushed them utterly, often winning six-on-six matches with a single Pokémon.

Today she was no different. She stood completely still, her sharp face devoid of emotion. Something about her tickled Cynthia's brain, though who could say why. Perhaps it was the feeling of excitement at the entrance of a new player onto the Elite Trainer scene.

Finally, the long-awaited moment came. The announcer took one last pause and yelled,

"Let the battle…..BEGIN!"

Darius moved without hesitation, "Infernape, let's light the fire!"

"Sylveon, let's go."

 _Interesting choice_ , thought Cynthia, _What's she playing at?_

As Infernape beat its chest and flung a plume of fire in the air, to the crowd's delight, Cordia's Sylveon simply sat patiently on the battlefield, staring calmly at her opponent.

"If you're done showboating, we can start", called Cordia coldly across the field, eliciting a round of oohs from the onlookers.

"Well", answered Darius with a wink, "I'd hate to keep a lady waiting. Infernape, Mach Punch!"

"Wait, then Fairy Wind."

Sylveon merely blinked in acknowledgement, regarding the onrushing Infernape with mild curiosity, head tilted slightly. At the last second, it opened its mouth and barked,

"VEE!"

Instantly, a silvery-pink wind slammed into Infernape, flinging it back behind Darius, who could only watch in shock as his prized starter peeled himself off the ground with difficulty.

 _Impressive_ , Cynthia noted, _even a super-effective hit doesn't usually faze Darius that much. Cordia knows what she's doing, for sure, and she's not afraid to use her power._

Darius was no fool, and knew better than to force a bad matchup just to save face; "Infernape, Return. You'll get your chance later, old friend. Rapidash, turn up the heat! Flame Charge!"

Rapidash materialized with fire already erupting all over its body as it sprinted at the unmoved Sylveon.

"Quicksand, Sylveon. Now."

Darius' eyes narrowed; he was unaware of any move called Quicksand…

Sylveon seemed to understand, and sprang to the side with a Quick Attack. A standard dodging tactic, Rapidash had seen it before. However, just as it turned the Flame Charge towards its new target, it was hit in the face by a Sand Attack that Sylveon had dropped in its wake.

Cordia smirked as the combo move succeeded in cancelling the Flame Charge. She'd done her homework on the 'Fire Tamer', and she knew he'd go down like the rest as long as she was careful. She had to win. This was her only shot at the Lilly of the Valley Conference, and she absolutely _had_ to get close to the Sinnoh Champion without raising any…underground suspicions. She had to appear as no more than the latest big name to ascend to the League. As Rapidash struggled to clear its eyes, covering itself with a poorly aimed Flamethrower, she pressed her advantage;

"Now Dazzling Gleam."

Rapidash looked up, only to be struck by a blinding flash that dealt significant damage and furthered the Fire Horse's disorientation.

"Rapidash", Darius switched tactics, "get moving! Flame Charge anywhere, just go!"

Not for nothing was he called the Fire Tamer, the repeat winner of the toughest qualifying tournament of the competitive battling season. Rapidash began Flame Charging willy-nilly, and Sylveon took a hit or two, unable to predict the erratic movements of the flailing Fire Horse.

Desperation, however, has its limits, and all Cordia had to do was keep Sylveon calm enough to dodge until Rapidash exhausted itself.

"Now", called Darius, "Flamethrower, full blast! Take that thing down!"

"It's just not your day, Darius. Moonblast, please, Sylveon."

A blast of energy left Rapidash unquestionably unconscious.

"Alright, let's try something different, then", Darius was trying to remain positive, but that Sylveon was brutally tough, and now it was almost taunting him, sitting adorably in the middle of the field and scratching behind its ear as if nothing had happened, ribbons fluttering delicately in the light breeze.

"Altaria, I need you now!"

Out came the majestic flying dragon, with a regal and elegant cry.

"Now, Steel Wing!"

 _So,_ thought Cynthia, watching with great interest, _his Dragon-types are still equipped to deal with Fairy types. Bold, but this Sylveon will take some beating._

"Jump, Sylveon. When it's time."

The obedient Intertwining Pokémon nodded calmly, and looked on calmly yet again as an attack came flying in. Just as before, it dodged at the last minute, this time by leaping upward, as another order came from Cordia,

"Good, now Moonblast."

Moonblast struck true, and Altaria took heavy damage, but Darius wouldn't go down without a fight;

"Pursuit, Altaria!"

Finally, his attack landed. Altaria flashed in behind the unprepared Sylveon and dealt a heavy blow, though admittedly not very effective. Sylveon got up primly, taking a brief moment to shake off the impact.

"Quick Attack, Sylveon."

"I know you can dodge that, Altaria!"

As Altaria took off, Sylveon flashed underneath it, prompting another call from Cordia.

"Swift, straight up."

Swift hit hard on Altaria's soft underbelly plumage, forcing it to land.

"Now Quick Tackle, Sylveon."

"Astonish!"

Unable to dodge, Altaria managed to halt Sylveon with an Astonish attack, but it was clearly on its last legs, while the Fairy type showed very little sign of its exertion in the battle thus far.

 _This round is already over_ , thought Cynthia, _Cordia isn't the type to toy with her opponents; she'll end this quickly._

True to form, the ferocious Trainer barked out, "Dazzling Gleam and Swift."

The double attack finished off the unfortunate Altaria, and Darius found himself outmaneuvered yet again, and down by two Pokémon despite his efforts.

"Fine, then, I'll go with Magmortar next!"

"MAAAGGG!"

The Blast Pokémon was certainly fired up. Cordia, in response, made her own change. Rather than let Sylveon battle until it went down, she returned it and released a fresh fighter;

"Furret, you're in!"

A round of chuckles went through the crowd. It was almost comical, seeing a little Furret facing down the titanic firepower of a fully grown, well-trained Magmortar. Sure, Furret could be trained to be quite strong, but surely this was too much for it to handle. This round wouldn't last long.

Only Cynthia seemed to see what was really going on between the two Trainers.

 _Is Cordia…Is she taunting Darius? If so, she's playing some brilliant but dangerous mind games. Still, after seeing her Sylveon, Darius will know not to underestimate that Furret._

Darius grimaced, knowing full well that his opponent was intentionally disrespecting his strength. He'd seen her sweep her past opponents with her Scizor and Haxorus, amongst others. Now she pulled out a Sylveon and a Furret to beat him in the final? She was all but sticking her tongue out at him. Very well, she'd soon learn how foolish she was to discount him.

"Let's really light this party up, Magmortar! Fire Blast!"

"That's your best shot? Furret, Dig."

In frustration, Darius watched as Furret burrowed into the field, letting Fire Blast pass harmlessly above it. But where would it emerge?

"Ready a Thunder Punch, Magmortar, and be on guard."

"Now, Furret. Follow with Sucker Punch."

Not only was Dig successful, but the attempted Thunder Punch flew tamely past the speedy Furret, who was already coming in for the Sucker Punch follow-up. The devastating combo left the proud Magmortar reeling.

"Keep it together", Darius urged, "let's turn it around! Lava Plume before it digs again!"

"Stand tall, Furret. You can take that."

The Lava Plume was truly an impressive one, but Furret took the hit boldly, with barely a shake of its head to steady itself.

"Now, Pursuit. Recognize this one, Darius?"

As Furret slammed into Magmortar's back, Darius groaned. He'd fallen for the very same trick his Altaria had pulled against Sylveon. This girl was making him look downright foolish!

"Turn quick, Magmortar, and Thunder Punch!"

"Meet it with Iron Tail, then Hyper Voice."

Furret obliged with relative ease, as if Lava Plume had hardly touched it. When the dust cleared from Hyper Voice, Magmortar struggled back to its feet before collapsing to the ground, unable to continue.

 _Damn_ , thought Darius, _She's downed half my team and I've only even seen two of hers; and none of her strongest battlers. This doesn't look good._

"Alright. Infernape, come back out! We'll match speed for speed!"

"Speed, eh? Furret, return. If you want speed, try Scizor instead!"

Something about this Cordia truly intrigued Cynthia. As Scizor appeared, lithe and ready, she knew that this battle was totally one-sided. It was only a question of whether Darius could knock out any of Cordia's team before she beat him. She had such confidence, and her style was so…merciless. She didn't use any kind of special tactics, didn't look for the most graceful or the flashiest win – she simply took the most efficient possible route to complete victory. It was almost frightening.

"Poor choice, Cordia", Darius had found a weak spot, "Heat Wave!"

"As if. Scizor, beat it back with Razor Wind."

Almost flippantly, Scizor summoned a powerful Razor Wind that blew the Heat Wave safely back at Infernape. Darius looked absolutely flummoxed, and Cordia wore a cool smirk.

"Get in there, Scizor. Slash, then Fury Cutter."

"Close Combat, Infernape. You can match this thing."

But Infernape, it turned out, could not keep up. Every punch it threw was two steps behind the relentless Scizor, and within seconds the Fire Monkey was covered in Slashes while Scizor retreated comfortably to a safe distance.

"Don't let it go, Infernape! Mach Punch!"

With a roar of rage, Infernape charged at blistering speed towards Scizor, and Cordia quickly responded,

"Catch it with Metal Claw, then Iron Head!"

Infernape's glowing arm met Scizor's glistening claw and the unfortunate Flame Pokémon's eyes widened, before an Iron Head put it down for the count. Scizor crossed its arms and stared menacingly at Darius as he recalled the fourth defeated member of his team.

"If speed won't do the trick, I'll go for power. Salamence, come on out!"

"Fair enough. Power it shall be. Scizor, return. Let's go Dragon vs Dragon. Haxorus, you're up!"

Darius was visibly frustrated at having to face yet another fresh Pokémon, this one a much more daunting opponent, when he was already back into a corner.

 _This would be hard enough as is_ , he thought, _but even if I make a miracle comeback, I've got to contend with the Sylveon somehow, and all I've got left is Dragons._

"Alright, Salamence", he certainly planned to fight through to the end, "go straight for the KO! Draco Meteor!"

Salamence gave an almighty roar, and meteors filled with draconic power flew from the sky all around Haxorus.

"Focus up, Haxorus, use Cross Chop and Iron Tail to block them out."

 _At least that one sort of hit_ , Darius reminded himself, _She blocked the direct hits, but I'm sure it still took some kind of damage. That's a start._

"Our turn", called Cordia, a cruel smile playing on her lips, "Show them what a real Draco Meteor looks like!"

Once again, meteors came streaming out of the clear sky, but these were undeniably larger and glowed with a brighter blue, almost white-hot Dragon-type flame.

"Salamence, use Fly! Get up and avoid as many as you can!"

Darius was pleased to see Salamence escape with only a few light hits, and watched with prideful anticipation as it came down to land Fly, which pushed Haxorus back quite a ways. At last, he was gaining his footing in this battle!

"Dragon Claw before it goes anywhere!"

Haxorus lashed out before Salamence had time to turn and escape, and took a severe and potent Dragon Claw head on. It roared in pain, but managed to launch itself into the air to fly back and take up position in front of its Trainer.

Haxorus' red eyes showed a vicious fire fueled by anger as the two Dragons fell into a staring match. Evidently Cordia's Pokémon didn't appreciate being hit.

"Dragon Pulse!" Cordia yelled, urging her Pokémon forward as Darius gave his own command, "Fire Fang!"

Dragon Pulse struck home first, and Haxorus used it as cover to get in close to Salamence, whereupon Cordia continued her unrelenting assault,

"Dragon Claw! Night Slash!"

The resourceful Haxorus landed one attack with each of its hands, and followed it with a Dual Chop for good measure, before Salamence swung an unbidden Dragon Tail to force its attacker away.

"Once more, Haxorus, Dragon Pulse!"

Haxorus' chest was heaving from the intense battle, but it stood strong, showing no sign of its exhaustion. Salamence, on the other hand, was done. Darius recalled it silently.

 _It all comes down to this_ , thought Darius, _One versus six. Let's do what we can, old friend._

"Flygon, Earth Power!"

Flygon was already halfway done with its attack by the time it had finished emerging from its Pokéball. It slammed viciously into the ground, and Haxorus roared at the sudden hit. When the ground ceased shaking, it fell to one knee, and then collapsed. Somehow, Darius had actually taken down one of Cordia's Pokémon!

The young woman's eyes narrowed as she quietly recalled her fallen companion, whispering "I'm sorry" before calling out her next choice,

"Alright, Sylveon, you're back in."

A rested Sylveon burst back onto the field, and Darius barely restrained a groan. Of course she'd call Sylveon back out. All of his favorite Dragon moves were instantly rendered completely innocuous.

"Let's do this. Earthquake!"

"Nope. Dazzling Gleam!"

A flash accompanied by a blast of energy stopped Flygon in its tracks before Earthquake could kick off. The Ground and Dragon type and backed away instinctively, but Sylveon followed it in with a Quick Attack, and Cordia called,

"Tackle it!"

Flygon was forced off balance by the Tackle attack, giving Cordia yet another opening to pummel the hapless Mystic Pokémon;

"Moonblast! Then Swift!"

Flygon hadn't managed to land a single hit. The battle was over. Darius had lost.

Speechless, he recalled Flygon and crossed the field for the customary handshake between the combatants. Cordia was as emotionless as ever, and said only,

"You fought well. Be proud of your team."

Still in shock, Darius blurted a blunt question before he could stop himself, "Who ARE you?"

She answered simply as she turned away, "I'd love to know that myself."

 **Cynthia**

As she boarded the jet later that afternoon to take her back to Lilly Island, Cynthia was still pondering the puzzling woman she'd watched in the final. She'd heard of Cordia only recently, when she exploded onto the Iron Island scene in the early stages of the tournament. As the rounds progressed, more and more attention had been drawn to her by her blitzkrieg battling style, and also by the variety in her team. She had Pokémon from Kanto, Johto, Kalos, and even Unova.

The Pokémon Master stirred slightly as her bracelet buzzed to indicate an incoming call. She pressed the button and Lucian's face appeared, as cool and collected as ever.

"Lucian, my friend; how are you?"

"Distracted, Cynthia. But I'm sure we all are right now."

His meaning was clear, "You saw Cordia's battles too, then?"

"Indeed", nodded the Psychic Master of the Elite Four, "but I'd like to hear your thoughts."

"Honestly", Cynthia considered carefully before continuing, "I think at the very least she'll make some noise at the conference. I wouldn't be surprised to see her make the semifinals, maybe more. Could you beat her?"

"It's difficult to say", shrugged Lucian, "but I'd love the chance to find out. As it happens I have researched her."

"Really? In what way? What have you found?"

Lucian grinned, "I thought that might perk you up. She claims to be from Floaroma, but nobody by the name of Cordia has lived there in at least thirty years."

Brow furrowed, Cynthia thought aloud, "That's not possible. Trainers register for all official tournaments with their League-issued Trainer identification cards. Those absolutely cannot be faked."

"I have no idea what this means", admitted Lucian, "but no matter what, she has now legitimately qualified for Lilly of the Valley, so she's just about untouchable until the Conference has concluded, even if we could find her, which we currently can't. Ah, but I have to go now. I just wanted to keep you in the know."

"Thank you, Lucian. I'm on the way back to the Island, so I'm sure I'll see you soon. Goodbye."

As she hung up, Cynthia fell deep into her own thoughts once more. The big question of Cordia's past and identity was quickly growing to dominate her mind. Battlers like her didn't just come from nowhere. Even Cynthia herself had…well, but that was an exception. Just who was this young woman? Who was Cordia?

-o-

 _Sometimes I hate my job_ , thought Brian as the umpteenth tournament tourist boarded the cruise liner headed back to Canalave from the Iron Island Tournament.

"Ticket please, ma'am", he said in a flat monotone, his brain on autopilot. Only half an hour more until they would shove off and he could do something, anything, besides ticket duty. If only there was literally any other way for him to pay for school…

The lady and her family barely paid him any heed as they absentmindedly handed over their tickets and got on board.

 _Sure,_ he was feeling quite salty, _why pay any attention to the ticket guy. It's not like he – whoa…hello, there…_

He stood up straight as a drop-dead gorgeous girl approached who looked about his age. He certainly was looking quite intently, too. Her short, blonde hair and rectangular glasses gave her that intelligent but attractive look that he just couldn't get enough of. Her pleated black skirt and tall socks didn't hurt either. This and her simple blue tank top accentuated her figure in all the right ways, which just about made Brian's jaw hit his ticket desk before he remembered he still had to do his job;

"Uh, hi there! We hope you enjoyed your stay on Iron Island, miss. Do you have your ticket?"

She smiled brightly (Brian could feel his face grow warm) and fished through her purse briefly before producing a ticket.

"You mean this ticket? Yup, here you go!"

"Th-thanks…You're free to board, miss. Enjoy the ride to Canalave!"

"Oh I think I will", she answered with a musical, charming voice. She walked off onto the ship, but not before casting a wink back at Brian.

He stood stupidly, waving vaguely at her until he heard a gruff voice,

"Are you quite finished _admiring the view_ , Mr. Derron?"

He cringed as he turned back to his desk to find his grumpy manager glaring menacingly down at him, pointing at the growing line of passengers waiting to present their tickets. Ugh…

 **Cordia**

She grinned to herself as she made her way to the back of the deck. She always got more of that kind of thing as a blonde, for some reason. The student outfit probably helped too. She always hated having to play dress-up in public, but 'Cordia' couldn't be seen outside of the battlefield, so 'travelling student' it had to be. She had to remain completely off the radar. Her Floaroma backstory wouldn't hold up under any great deal of scrutiny and she couldn't be sure who was or was not checking.

She found a bench in a relatively unpopulated area of the ship, overlooking the ocean. Sitting, she released her Raichu, who sat contentedly against her left side, asking silently to be petted.

"You're so spoiled", she joked offhandedly to the Mouse Pokémon, before allowing herself a wistful sigh.

"You ever wonder how big we could get if we went legit?"

"Rai rai", Raichu seemed to understand its Trainer's sentiment.

"Too late now, but still…" She sat quietly for another minute or two before shaking her head. She had no time for such frivolous, careless thoughts. She still had half a job left to do.

"I know she was watching, Raichu. She had to be there. She saw us. We're so close now."

In response, Raichu snuggled closer to her Trainer. Raichu was quite a curious Pokémon. The fact that she was on her Trainer's main team was proof enough of her raw power. She was fast, brutal, ruthless, and dangerous on the battlefield. At the end of the day, however, she was a total softie. She purred gratefully as 'Cordia' began to rub her back.

The evolved electric-type started as she felt a drop on her head. She looked up to see a tear flowing silently down her beloved human's beautiful face.

"Chu? Rai raichu!"

Raichu wanted to comfort her Trainer, but knew she wasn't the one to help right now. She quietly rummaged through the purse that sat next to her and poked the button on Furret's Pokéball.

With a soft cry, Furret burst out onto the bench, quickly observing and, with a nod from Raichu, understanding the situation.

"Furr…"

"Furret", began the young woman, "I just can't believe we're – we're so close. After all these years, we'll get to see her again…"

As Raichu returned herself so as not to impose, Furret climbed up on her Trainer and wrapped herself around her neck like a scarf. 'Cordia' scratched behind the ears of her first-ever Pokémon.

"I'm going to need you and Sylveon to put in a lot of work when the Conference starts. I absolutely have to win to meet her without causing a stir. If I bust through security anywhere on the Lilly Island, the whole underground will know and I'll be blown."

Furret was only halfway listening. Of course she would do whatever was required of her, but she knew her Trainer was only going over the plan again to calm herself down. She nestled into her lap as tenderly as she could, just the way she knew her lifelong friend liked best and allowed herself to be petted as 'Cordia' continued;

"To win the whole thing though, I'll need you two to sweep the early rounds so I can have Scizor, Houndoom, Haxorus and Raichu fresh in the latter stages, plus whatever you and Sylveon have left in the tank."

"Furret furr", answered the Long Body Pokémon calmly, without raising her head. She was used to prolonged stretches of battling and had complete confidence in her favorite human. No matter how exhausted they got, they would pull through this like they always did.

There was a brief silence as 'Cordia' returned to her own thoughts before saying softly,

"…Thanks for trusting me, Furret. You know how important this is. I'm just nervous is all... This time it's personal. I _must_ get to Cynthia."


	2. Chapter 2 - The Brewing Calm

Annette Chapter 2 – The Brewing Calm

It had taken four separate identities, six different disguises, and three cities to get here, but she'd finally made it to Lily of the Valley Island – with a week to spare, no less. Now, of course, she had to check in as 'Cordia'.

"Hey", she walked brusquely up to the desk, wearing the all-black outfit that 'Cordia' was known for, sporting her natural black hair color, "I'm checking in for the Conference."

"Okay!" The perky desk girl took her modified Pokétch and scanned it, "Oh, that's right, you're Cordia! Ohmygosh, I saw your battles at Iron Island, _so_ cool, I'm _such_ a big fan. Can't wait to see you in action here against the best. I love your hair, too, by the way."

"Thanks. Can I get my watch back?"

"Sure thing! You're all set, here's your welcome packet. There's a map in there, as well as a keycard to the room you've been given, and you should look over the information about guidelines regarding interactions with other Conference battlers. Any questions?"

"No", answered 'Cordia' before walking through the reception hall doors to the city proper.

Lily City, the island metropolis, contained all the major facilities of the Pokémon League, as well as housing and amenities for the many hundreds of people it took to support the League, with the Champion as its figurehead, and the Elite Four as her symbolic vanguards. They were a living testament to the glory of battling that only Sinnoh could produce.

Call whoever you want – Lance, Steven, Alder, Diantha, even that new guy, Kukui – none of them or their Leagues could truly measure up to the magnificence of Sinnoh's Champion. 'Cordia' strolled through the city. It was her first time in the crown jewel of the region, or at least her first time there _legally_.

The little shops that lined the quaint, cobblestone streets, selling vastly overpriced goods to tourists who bought them anyway, made for a healthy human atmosphere. People bustled up and down the sidewalks, day and night, searching for the best this, the only that, the trinkets and collectibles that were exclusive to the fabled Island. The whole place was like a communal shrine to the greatest Pokémon Battle experts in the world.

 _If only they knew what a_ real _battle looked like_ , thought 'Cordia' with a smirk, _I doubt anyone in this tournament would last more than a minute in a big-time Underworld match._

As one went further and further in towards the Island's center, the street slopes rose steadily, and the mythical cathedral of battling, the one and only Lily Stadium, shone like a diamond above everything else. Even during the Conference, this legendary venue would be reserved only for the very best of the best; preliminary rounds and early knockout battles would be contested in the eight subservient arenas that jutted out like flower petals from the great, gleaming Stadium.

On the other side of the island, 'Cordia' could just barely spy some of the jutting skyscrapers where the real work of maintaining the world's finest League took place. Huge office buildings, training facilities, meeting-places, anything needed for League officials to do their work, all of it happened on the far side of the island, away from the crowds and bustle of the commercial district.

None of the shops interested her now, though she made herself slow down once or twice to appear as if she was at least nominally interested in the wares on display. A red flash at her hip drew her attention; Furret had let herself out. The Long Body Pokémon climbed up to her Trainer's head, delighted at the new sights and sounds;

"Furret furrr….."

"Yep, it's really something. I almost wish we really were just here to compete. We can't lose focus, though."

"Furret furr furret?"

"Don't act like you don't know how this works. I've got to go 'get settled', and then we need to check in at the local Network port. That means no sightseeing until late this evening. At the earliest."

Disappointed, the deceptively cute Pokémon settled herself around her Trainer's shoulders to continue taking in the many eye-catching things on offer in Lily City.

After meandering about, apparently absentmindedly, 'Cordia' at last checked into her hotel room, about two blocks from Battle Central, the network of stadiums that played host to the Conference. In fact, she was lucky enough to get a room with a good view of the Stadium, though any view on Lily Island was nothing to sniff at.

Changing into one of her many alternate looks, this time 'punk teenager', she put some quick white highlights in her hair, changed her contacts to give her a new eye color, and hit the streets once more.

With the baggy hood of her tattered jacket pulled over her face, and her hands stuffed forcefully into the pockets of the black sweatpants that hung loosely from her hips, she observed with smug satisfaction the nervous looks of the people who hurried uncomfortably past her.

 _Predictable_ , she muttered to herself, _but still entertaining._

She took a roundabout route to her destination, one of many small precautions that her instincts demanded form pure force of habit. She'd been in this game long enough to know you were only free from suspicion if you took every possible measure to avoid drawing suspicion to you. Eventually, with one more furtive look up and down the road, she slipped unobtrusively into an alley off of one of the smaller streets on the fringes of the commercial district.

Finding a barely noticeable, grungy looking metal door, she knocked and waited for the identity challenge. Soon, a smooth robotic voice spoke from the other side of the door;

"Initiate device identification."

She answered immediately, "Device Alpha requesting port access."

"IP address verification required."

Employing the complex code she'd long since committed to heart, she rattled off the answer, "IP , plus zero."

"Handshake complete. Filter access granted."

She heard a small click, and pushed the door open slowly. She found herself standing in a small, plain entryway, blocked off by yet another door. The same voice spoke again, coming from a small speaker just above the inside of the door;

"Valid scanner detected and synchronized. Please submit biometric scans."

'Cordia' pressed a small button on the underside of her Pokétch , and then pressed her index finger to the screen until she heard a small ping. She then held the device up to her left eye and waited for another ping. After both scans, the voice spoke one last time;

"Scans verified. Full server access granted. Welcome to Lily City, Master Core."

She smiled. She never got tired of hearing that. 'Master Core' just had such a ring to it…

She pushed through the second door to proceed into what looked to be a high-tech office space mixed with a classy business lounge. The soft, tan carpet blended well with the brick red interior and black leather couches to give the room a sleek but warm feel.

Seated at a desk along the side wall, surrounded by three holographic screens, was a young man wearing a headset, who stopped what he was doing when an alert flashed on the middle screen. He squinted at it in disbelief before snapping his headset off and jumping out of his seat to come greet the 'Master Core'. He wore simple dark jeans, and a grey t-shirt, and his unruly blonde hair fell into his eyes as he bounded eagerly across the room;

"Hi there! I'm Lucas, designation Lobo. I'm the Control Node for Lily City, based here at Local Port 1. Uh, to what do I owe the honor? It's not every day that the Master Core herself drops in."

"Nice to meet you, Lucas", she smiled, "Don't bother with the Master Core thing. It's a fun formality, but you can call me Alpha, or better yet just use my name – I'm Annette."

"Sure, sure. Annette, gotcha. Uh…can I get you something to drink? I got coffee, juice, water, soda…I think there's a few beers in there, might be some whiskey too."

"Thanks, Lucas", she flung herself onto one of the couches in the middle of the room, "I'll actually take a coffee if you don't mind."

"You got it", he responded as he walked over to the machine, "I was just thinking of making a cup myself, so I'll join you. What brings you to my humble neck of the woods? Does the Network have an op planned during the Conference?"

"You might say that. I'll be taking point."

"I'm going to assume this has something to do with Operation Phoenix?"

Taking a deep breath, Annette nodded, "Yes. This is actually the initialization point of Operation Phoenix."

Lucas came back and set a cup of coffee on a table in front of his guest before seating himself in an armchair across from her, holding his own mug. He was now thoroughly intrigued,

"You're here to kick off the whole op? No kidding…wow. Well, you let me know what you need; anything in my cache is yours."

"Thanks, Lucas. Right now what I need is for you to listen carefully."

The excitable young man leaned in attentively as Annette explained her plan, "I'll be competing in the tournament under the name 'Cordia', the same name I used at Iron Island recently, if you heard about that. Meanwhile, I need you and the rest of the Lily City nodes on full surveillance duty."

"Whoa, that was you? I mean… Sure, you got it. What exactly are we looking for?"

"Look for anything that could be connected to the hostile phase of Operation Phoenix."

"You – you can't think they plan to do it _during_ the Conference?"

"I'm not sure, but Cyrus will certainly be putting his pieces in place at the very least. First things first, they've probably got a listening post here on the island, we'll need to find that."

They talked business a while longer, and then the conversation turned to the Island itself. Lucas had been stationed at Lily City Port 1 for almost two years, and had a wealth of helpful tidbits and insider information that would help Annette greatly. It was also good to just talk to someone honestly without having to be anyone other than who she was. In fact, they agreed to meet for coffee or lunch on occasion during the Conference, just to give the press something about 'Cordia' to chase after, to further ensure they would keep their greedy eyes off her other, more covert activities.

-o-

After getting herself situated, Annette spent the next few days making appearances around the Island as Cordia. She'd read through the competition conduct guidelines in her welcome packet and found that anything up to three-on-three matches was perfectly allowed, as long as they were in one of the designated battle spaces.

To her surprise, and slight discomfort, as soon as she stepped onto the training grounds the first morning, she had challengers lining up to have a crack at her undefeated team. She had instructed all six of her Pokémon to get a workout, to keep ready, but not show their full power. For one, she had to make sure they were fully fresh for the grueling tournament run. Also, she hoped to disguise her full ability so that she could continue to go unnoticed and unsuspected by the powers of the world whose attention she wished to avoid.

With four days to go until the tournament got underway, Annette's latest opponent was a boy with a Toxicroak and an attitude problem;

"You might be good", he said with his arms crossed and a smug grin on his face, "but you've never seen _anything_ like me and Toxy. Show me your strongest fighter and we'll go one on one!"

"My strongest?", 'Cordia' raised an eyebrow, "You'll have to earn that. If you can beat Furret, I'll bring out Haxorus."

The boy growled, "Fine, but you'll regret disrespecting me. You wait; I'll win this whole Conference."

"Prove it. Have some fun, Furret."

The adorable Long Body Pokémon meandered casually out to the battlefield, while the arrogant boy's Toxicroak appeared with a flash and a growl, dropping with practiced ease into a battle stance.

"Poison Jab, go!"

The Toxic Mouth Pokemon shot forward, but Annette responded, sounding almost bored, "Dig".

"Jump, Toxy, and ready another Poison Jab for when it emerges!"

The Toxicroak obliged wonderfully, scanning the ground as it jumped as hard as it could. Annette had expected nothing less. Furret's Dig attack was a true thing of beauty, she'd worked long and hard to learn how to delay it for as long as needed. Calmly, she waited until the toxic frog was descending before calling out "Now. Add a Hyper Voice".

Sure enough, Furret flew out of the ground to pummel her opponent brutally. The only issue with Dig was that it brought Furret into close range, where Toxicroak would be most dangerous. Hyper Voice fixed that by forcing Toxy backwards, allowing Furret to set herself up again, completely unscathed.

Struggling upright, Toxicroak barked angrily, and its Trainer called out,

"Come on Toxy, get in there with Revenge!"

"Iron Tail, Furret. End this."

Once more, Toxy the Toxicroak came hurtling headlong across the field, its eyes burning with anger. Annette had only to employ her favorite go-to strategy; wait, and counter-attack when it was too late for her opponent to do anything but watch as she picked their plans apart with ease.

Furret gazed languidly at the onrushing Toxic Frog and just as it gathered momentum for a vicious strike, she coated her tail in iron and swung a devastating hit into its stomach, sending it flying clear across the field like a swatted pinball, only to land with a painful crash.

"You done yet?" asked Annette, "Your 'invincible' Toxicroak can't even land a hit."

Toxy grimaced as it tried to push itself off the ground, muscles trembling.

"Rrgh…Return, Toxy. You – I won't stand for your trash talk. You may have won, but you've got no class, taunting the loser like that."

Annette shrugged, unaffected by his petty comeback, "You started the trash talk game. I'm only playing by your rules."

The angry young man walked away grumbling, and someone else from the sizeable crowd jumped in eagerly, but Annette held up a hand and said,

"I'm done for now. Maybe I'll be back later, we'll see."

Heedless of the disappointed groans, she strolled out of the training ring. Honestly, she was growing bored. Bored and anxious. She knew that all she could do until the tournament started was be patient and play the part of 'Cordia the Unbeatable', but sitting still while the biggest operation of her career approached was not a comfortable feeling. She was only going to get one shot at this and instead of prepping or setting everything up, she was stuck battling nobodies with mediocre Pokémon. Even Furret was bored by the frustratingly unsatisfying battles they'd been fighting for days now.

Her watch buzzed lightly, and she checked the screen. It flashed red – a message from another Network device. She made her way quickly back to her hotel room; once she was assured of her privacy, she input the message playback authorization code and waited patiently.

A static screen popped up – whoever had sent the message had disabled video. Intrigued, she read the text that came scrolling across;

 _If you want a real challenge, find me. You have until 20:00 to show me how you earned your Master Core designation._

 _-L_

Now here was something worth her time! She checked the time – half past noon – and rubbed her hands together in anticipation. She knew, of course, who the message was from: Lucas, or Lobo, had issued this challenge. They'd already been out to lunch once or twice, as per their plan, and she found it surprisingly refreshing to have someone else in on her schemes and manipulations. He made good company. Now, however, he was a target – a well-trained, deeply entrenched target.

He would have about an hour head start by now, at least, and she had to track down the most invisible man on Lily Island.

 _Bring it_ , she thought with a smirk. She knew this game, and nobody, _nobody_ , could beat her.

 **Step One**

First she changed into something more suitable for field work; grey tank top, close fit black cargo pants, sturdy but lightweight shoes, a beanie cap with a small brim to hide her face and hair just enough to avoid recognition, and a small pack to carry the essentials, including her Pokémon.

She knew the opposite side of the hotel she was in backed up to dense woodlands; that would be her best exit strategy. She went to the stairway at the end of her hallway and lifted the window open just enough to crawl out. Holding onto the window sill by her hands, she checked her options; the next window down was a full two stories – doable, but risky. The trees which reach all the way up near her were a much better bet. She tensed, and pushed herself off the wall of the building as hard as possible, crashing through a layer of twigs and leaves before catching hold of a branch big enough to hold her. In a matter of seconds she worked her way down to the bottom.

 **Step Two**

Cautiously joining the crowds on the sidewalk, she meandered about; careful to avoid major businesses and street intersections (these would have cameras, which Lucas was no doubt monitoring).

She was soon at the door to the hidden port where she'd met 'designation Lobo' yesterday. She went through the authentication process and let herself in.

The place, as she'd expected, was completely empty. He would be much smarter than to hang around the most obvious spot. She hadn't come here to find him; this place had the best locator equipment in the city. Also, he would no doubt know by now that she was there, and she wanted him to think he was staying ahead of her.

She sat down and whipped a tablet out of her bag. Lucas could no doubt track any activity from the main computer, so she'd brought one with an independent uplink to do her own quick-fire research. As she got going, she called out Houndoom and Raichu;

"I need you two to scout for me – or at least look like you're scouting for me. Go out and look sneaky, get up on rooftops, you know the drill. Get his attention, so I'll be clear to make the approach when I get a better idea of where I'm going. Head out."

 **Step Three**

She checked the clock – it was now 15:00. She'd been carefully narrowing down Lucas' most likely hiding places, sending Raichu and Houndoom to scout here and there when she needed a better visual. If Lucas was good enough to be Lily City Control Node, he would have a place set up with good digital access and line-of-sight visibility. She had three spots left, and that was enough for her to do her own dirty work. She waited another ten minutes until Raichu and Houndoom returned once again.

"Good work guys, I've just about got it. Houndoom, return for now. Raichu, knock out the power, we're taking the emergency exit."

Raichu was an expert just as much as her Trainer; she found the fuse box, yanked out the surge protector, and zapped the system just enough to turn building power off without causing any permanent damage.

 **Lucas**

He knew he'd probably get caught eventually. Still, he wasn't quite sure what the Master Core was planning. She'd been camped in Port One for hours now, and there was no sign of any activity from the computer. Surely she knew he wouldn't have left any clue there… she was better than that, wasn't she?

He'd spotted two of her Pokémon, Raichu and Houndoom, creeping about the rooftops around the commercial district, no doubt checking locations on her direction, but he could discern no pattern from their locations.

"She must have something up her sleeve", he muttered both to himself and his loyal Manectric.

"Still, I've beaten plenty of operative-class devices with this little setup, maybe I'm just a tough target."

Manectric didn't bother responding. He was busy patrolling the many windows of the empty penthouse, looking for any sign of the Master Core's Pokémon, any indication that she and her team were closing in.

Something caught the Electric type's eye, and he barked to get Lucas' attention.

"What is it, boy? Oh, that's her Sylveon! Keep track of it; I'm going to check the cams- oh crap!"

All signals from the Port blinked out simultaneously, and just like that the majority of Lucas' digital resources, his eyes and ears across the city, were gone. He was now limited to whatever mobile devices he had on his person, which wasn't much, and pure visual reconnaissance.

Meanwhile, Sylveon seemed to be making a beeline across the rooftops from the opposite direction of Port One to the building Lucas was using as a hiding spot. He dashed across the window to check the rest of the visible streets below. Soon, he spotted Houndoom approaching from a different direction. Mind racing, he kept looking, and soon saw Furret bounding towards his building from a third direction. The three Pokémon's movements had clearly been coordinated; they were forming a cone that was rapidly closing on him, trapping him between the three Pokémon and Port One, where he'd last seen Annette.

"Return, Manectric, we're blown. I have no clue how, but she found us; time for the backup strategy. Come on, pal, we only have to last another – what time is it – four and a half hours to win the challenge."

He was an experienced operative, and had his equipment packed and his setup totally wiped clean within two minutes. He impatiently rode the elevator to the ground floor and burst out of the front doors, head on a swivel as he checked every possible angle, finding the best escape route. He quickly got himself off the street and down an alleyway, where he pressed himself against the wall.

"Whew…Should be invisible enough back here. Manectric, I'll need your help."

The Electric type reappeared quietly and looked expectantly up at Lucas.

"Head back to the Port, see if you can get it back up and running. I'll make my way towards backup spot C. Got it?"

Manectric barked his understanding and took off down the alleyway. When he had turned the corner and disappeared, Lucas made to leave the other way, but a voice from above stopped him dead in his tracks;

"Now, Haxorus."

From the rooftop to his right, the terrifying Dragon came crashing onto the pavement in front of him.

 _Shoot…I bet I'm screwed._

He turned to run the other direction, but as expected, he was cut off by a Scizor, which had dropped silently down into the alley behind him.

"Alright", he called, "you win. I concede. Master Core is as good as they all say, after all."

"To be fair", a voice came from somewhere above him, "you made it a good chase. I had to hope that Houndoom, Sylveon, and Furret could flush you out. Speaking of which…"

Lucas still couldn't find Annette, but as she paused, the three Pokémon that had scared him out of hiding emerged from the sidewalks, the unusual activity earning some confused looks from passersby.

"Good job, guys", said Annette, her voice bouncing off the walls in a way that made it maddeningly impossible to pinpoint exactly where she was, "you worked the plan to perfection. It's been a while since we pulled a flush trap like that.

Suddenly, a flurry of activity directly overhead drew Lucas' attention. From the broken fire escape, Annette leapt over the side rail to drop dramatically to street level, landing in a perfect crouch before standing up to flash a smile at the dumbfounded young man.

"What?" she asked innocently, "Do I have something on my face? You're staring."

"Huh? No, I just…you – wow. I mean, seriously. Wow."

"How very articulate of you", Annette was feeling mischievous.

Lucas shook his head to get over the shock and answered, "Sorry. That was just…the best piece of operative work I've ever seen, by far. Actually though", it was his turn to wear a knowing grin, "that wasn't really the challenge. I knew you'd beat me; I just wanted it to be interesting. Now that you've caught me, though, how about running the Lily Island Course? _That_ will be the real challenge."

Annette's eyes gleamed; she loved a good Course challenge. Courses were like urban race tracks; parkour challenges that Network Devices like Lucas set up in the cities they were assigned to watch over. It was a good way to hone one's skills and have some friendly competition between Devices.

"So", she answered, "you _are_ the keeper of the infamous Lily Island Course. I've heard it's the most technical run in Sinnoh. I wouldn't miss this, let's go!"

"Perfect", smiled Lucas, "here's how it'll work. The start is where I was holed up; the empty penthouse at the top of this building. We'll start at 2am sharp, so you'll have a fair chance to scope out a route. The objective is none other than the big kahuna; Lily Stadium, dead center of the main field. I'll loop the security footage in the facility, so we'll be clear for the night. Sound good?"

"Oh yeah", answered Annette, "this is just what I needed. All equipment and Pokémon allowed?"

"Equipment yes, Pokémon no. Well, you can use Pokémon to try and sabotage me, but they can't directly help _you_."

"See you at two", grinned the enigmatic young woman as she turned on her heel and strode confidently down the alley.

As she melded into the crowd on the sidewalk with expert ease, Manectric came bounding back to his Trainer, and Lucas addressed his loyal partner,

"She beat me, pal. She was waiting out here and trapped me the minute you left. Still, you did great. I assume the power's back on at the Port?"

Manectric barked and nodded proudly. He'd done his job exactly as instructed.

"Great buddy, I'm proud of you."

The young man waxed thoughtful as he cast one last glance at the alley where Annette had disappeared. He turned slowly and voiced his thoughts aloud to his Discharge Pokémon,

"I still can't believe _she's_ the Master Core. I mean she's so….young, you know? She can't be much older than me."

"Manec Man", replied the Electric type.

"Yeah. Still", continued Lucas, "we've done pretty well for ourselves, eh? We've hit the top of the underworld, after all. Can't go much further than a node in The Network. Even the Rockets are scared of pissing us off."

"Man Manectric!"

"Hell yeah. All the same, I can't get over the fact that as good as we are, she makes us look like rookies. She's something, all right, and she's feisty to boot. I like that. It makes her more…I don't know, real?"

"Manec?" The Pokémon asked as the pair reached the inconspicuous door to the Port the pair called home.

"Whoa, what? Nah, come on, pal, I'm not…look, I'm just making observations here. I'm just talking, okay? Still, you have to admit", he added as they entered their living room to prepare for their upcoming Course Challenge, "she _really_ pulls off the dangerous-and-sexy thing."

The Discharge Pokémon gave a resigned sigh, "Manectric Man…"

 **Annette**

From a need to keep up appearances, 'Cordia' went out to dinner at a local café and 'tried and failed' not to be noticed. After making a big show of her unwillingness to give an interview, she allowed herself to be trapped by one particularly ambitious reporter, who cornered her and asked,

"Cordia! Cordia! What do you say to the rumors surrounding your connection with Richard West?"

Doing her best to hide a nonexistent blush, she asked guardedly, "Rumors? What rumors? I barely know him!"

"Why have you gone out to lunch twice with someone you barely know?"

"Well, I…look, we're friends. We went to lunch, but that's not – I mean, there's nothing like _that_ going on!"

"So you maintain there is no romantic connection between you two at all?"

"I'm not maintaining anything, I'm just telling you we're friends and we just happened to go to lunch."

She walked off hurriedly, doing her best to seem flustered and upset. In reality, she was just _done_.

As she watched the interview on the local news outlet later, in her hotel room, she felt a combination of disgust and smug superiority. It was triflingly easy to play these media types. They would buy the first bunch of nonsense that could fill a paper column or a television time slot. So, while they were reporting on whether or not 'Cordia' was in love with an apparently random shop owner in Lily City, she had essentially free reign to what she was really here for; win the Conference, keep Cyrus at bay, and get to Cynthia before he did.

Taking a deep breath, she shut the TV off and laid on her bed in silence. She set an alarm and decided to have a few hours rest before meeting Lucas for the Challenge, having finished her preparations long since.

Before she drifted off, she pulled out two pictures from her tightly packed duffel bag. These two photographs, which were actually just two copies of the same picture, were the only objects of sentiment that she kept, and she guarded them jealously.

She stared for the millionth time at the first copy. She had it all but memorized by now; it was a color photo of two girls, no older than ten or eleven, seated on the top of a small brick wall overlooking a paved playground. The girls, wearing standard school uniforms, were deep in discussion, the apples they were eating all but forgotten as they talked about some long-forgotten something that must've been terribly important at the time.

 _We probably stole those apples from the cafeteria anyway_ , thought Annette with a sad smile, _It's a good thing only the school photographer noticed. We'd have been in trouble. Again._

She carefully held up the second copy, a black and white version of the right half of the first picture. She gazed almost longingly now at this cutoff half, at the girl with black hair who was too engaged in talking to her best friend to notice the cameraman snipe their picture for the school yearbook.

 _If only she'd have known…She was less than two months from having her world ripped to shreds._

A bitter tear betrayed the mess of emotions that still boiled just under her cool surface after over a decade.

 _Soon. Soon._


	3. Chapter 3 - On the Edge

Chapter 3 – On the Edge

She felt her short hair flutter in the refreshingly cool night breeze. Standing atop the appointed skyscraper, Annette checked her watch. The run was due to start in five minutes, at 2am sharp.

"Good, you made it", called a voice behind her. Lucas emerged from the open skylight onto the roof. He, like her, had a small pack, comfortable dark clothes, and little else.

"Ready to get this going?"

She smirked and allowed herself a small taunt;

"Anytime. Get ready to watch the Master Core work."

"Well then", he winked, "let's cut to the chase. Literally."

With that, he sprinted past her and jumped headlong off the building. Laughing maniacally, she followed him without hesitation. As she flung herself off the roof's edge, she saw Lucas' jet black parachute flare into life and arrest his momentum, carrying him safely towards a nearby office building.

 _So, he's going with that route after all. I thought he would._

As the wind whistled past her, she angled her body to carry her forward as she fell, zipping forward like a miniature jet. She waited much longer than he had to deploy her chute, she was descending much further. She'd considered his route before deciding on a lower alternative.

Finally, she pulled her cord, and fluttered with practiced ease down onto a local business rooftop, slipping out of her pack straps five feet from the roof. She rolled the landing, and came up sprinting.

 _Hopefully Sylveon's found him. She'll be able to slow him up._

She leapt comfortably from one roof to the next, sprinting across the top of what smelled like a bakery. Careful to get her jump right, she flung herself off the side of that building to grab the ladder that led her up to the roof of a small apartment building.

From the corner of her eye she caught a flash of something moving toward her, and she hit the deck in the blink of an eye as a Croagunk's Sucker Punch attack flew over her, missing her by inches as she slid underneath. She came up in a crouched fighting stance, reacting immediately to her assailant. The Toxic Mouth Pokémon stared blankly at her for a split second, surprised that its attack had missed, before springing forward with an attempted Poison Sting.

Annette once again dove out of the way, leaving one leg out to trip the Croagunk. As the Pokémon stumbled, she dove on top of it, and gave it a swift whack to the head to disorient it. Holding it down with her body, she called out,

"Houndoom, Furret."

The two Pokémon appeared instantly, leaving their Pokéballs ready for anything. She cast her eyes around the nearby rooftops carefully, searching for something in particularly.

"Furret, take care of this little punk. Houndoom, there should be… yes, there. See that Glameow? It's going to realize any second that their little ambush failed. Follow it back to its base, but don't engage. Then come find me and report. This has to be Galactic."

She narrowed her eyes with a dark smirk and muttered to herself, "I've drawn you out…Now I'm in control."

Sure enough, the Glameow she had pointed out turned and whisked away. The faithful and skilled Houndoom took off, never once losing track of his unsuspecting prey. When it came to hunting in the dark, nothing could match Annette's Houndoom.

With a short breath to reset her focus, Annette once again took off at a full sprint, leaving Furret to finish off the Croagunk. She got back into her rhythm, vaulting over low walls, leaping gaps with practiced ease, all while remaining silent and out of sight. Within a minute, the Stadium came into view, glistening in the Lily City moonlight like something out of a Trainer's dream.

As she jumped calmly off of a second floor balcony to land on a dark section of open road, she heard a small electrical zap behind her. She glanced quickly over her shoulder to see two electric attacks cancel each other out, blocking off what would otherwise have been a convenient rooftop.

 _Perfect. Good job, Raichu._

Seeing a tall fence, Annette seized the opportunity to get back above street level, scrambling up to balance gracefully on the top of the fence before flinging herself bodily at a windowsill, which she caught with one hand. Without missing a beat, she hauled herself through the open window and landed with a front roll in the upstairs storeroom of an empty shop. She never stopped moving, sprinting across the small space to the opposite window, which she dove through headfirst, landing with another neat somersault on the lower patio. Jumping off the rail, she rode a clothesline across the gap to the last building on the street before leaping down to the sidewalk once more and taking off at a dead sprint to the Stadium, which was now directly ahead of her.

Annette slowed only when she'd reached the immediate vicinity of the Stadium. Peering around, it took her about ten seconds to formulate a plan for getting down into the massive structure. Her first thought was to parachute off the top of a neighboring skyscraper, but she'd ditched her pack at the outset of her run…

 _I guess we'll have to get in the boring way after all._

She sprinted around to the side of the Stadium, finding a service entrance. She picked the lock easily, and took off through the maze of maintenance corridors that sprawled underneath the superstructure. After her impressively smooth urban sprint to get to the Stadium, running through employee hallways felt a bit underwhelming, but Annette put aside her minor disappointment and focused on finishing the challenge at hand. She still had to get out onto the main field before Lucas found a way through Raichu and Sylveon. One last door led out to a promising-looking tunnel, and within seconds she had finally arrived.

She slowed as she ran out and found herself suddenly in the center of the most revered battling Stadium in any of the civilized regions. The simple dirt field, with its pristine white lines, was at the center of at least 80,000 seats, surrounding the main stage on every side.

 _This is really it. This is THE Lily Stadium._

She could hardly believe it. She'd always enjoyed watching the magnificent spectacles played out here on television, but standing on the hallowed field herself was absolutely breathtaking. She glanced quickly around and saw that she was alone – she'd beaten Lucas after all. Somehow, that suddenly felt unimportant. What mattered most to her now was that she was actually _inside_ Lily Stadium, on the field she'd dreamed of her entire life.

With slow and reverent steps, she walked out to the Trainer box nearest to her. She stood there and let the memories flood her mind. Growing up with nothing, she'd always told herself that one day, she'd be the strongest – the best Trainer ever. Every time she and Sentret (who later became Furret) stepped onto the asphalt outside the Veilstone orphanage to train, she'd imagined herself here, in Lily Stadium, with the crowd roaring her name.

For a young girl with no family, no money, and no prospect for improvement, that dream had become intoxicating, had become a fixation. The idea of this place had driven her on and on her entire life. Now here she was, standing in the middle of that field of dreams, her very own cathedral of Pokémon battling.

"Hey. Guess you win."

Annette started, Lucas' voice jolting her out of her reminiscence.

"Yep", she grinned, "beat you again."

"Eh", he shrugged, "if you hadn't sent two Pokémon to hound my every step, I could've been here much sooner."

"You said I could!"

"Yeah, but I didn't plan on you sending Raichu specifically to get in Manectric's way. You really are the Master Core, I suppose. Name your prize, Annette, you won fair and square."

She thought for a moment, before answering with a smirk, "You pay for lunch tomorrow. Deal?"

 **Lucas**

"Well", he answered, "I think I can handle that. Any place in particular?"

He chuckled as she raised an eyebrow, answering without missing a beat,

"How should I know? You're the local boy. Surprise me, pick somewhere nice."

"Surprise you? This is sounding more and more like a date, Annette…"

Never had he seen her look genuinely shocked, but there it was.

 _Oh no…_ He immediately regretted saying it, _Oh no, Oh no, Oh no..! What was I thinking? Geez, Lucas, you stupid idiot! Gah! It's not a date, it's a lunch, why would you say that? Dammit, what did I just do? I can't believe I just asked the Master Core on-_

"Let's call it what it is then", answered Annette with a wink, interrupting Lucas' terrified thoughts, "if this is a date, you have to come pick me up. Deal?"

Now he was the one who was shell-shocked. Did…she just say yes?

"…Pick you up? You mean – well I, uh, yeah! Certainly, yes – yes, I can totally pick you up. Umm, shall we say noon?"

"Noon it is, Lucas. I'll be looking forward to it. Walk me home?"

"Walk you home? Uh, sure. I got in through the front door, this way."

The pair of them walked straight out the Stadium lobby's front door, and Lucas reset the security systems for the Stadium before they headed back towards Annette's hotel. They talked about life in Lily City. They talked about their Pokémon teams. They discussed their favorite famous battlers, past and present.

All the while, Lucas could hardly believe his luck. The Master Core herself (who was also one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever met) had her arm in his and they were just…walking and talking. As he considered his situation with renewed disbelief, another thought occurred to him;

 _Manectric is going to be unbearable after I tell him about this, he totally called it._

 **Annette**

She was still not quite sure why she'd decided to play along. Somehow it just…felt nice to let down the walls a bit, and be a normal person for once. Lucas was nice, fun to talk to, he was focused on his work without becoming a total robot (a rare trait among top Network operatives), and truth be told, he was – ahem – easy on the eyes.

 _What harm could it do? It's just a date._

She was still smiling softly to herself when she got back up to her room. Her Pokémon were waiting for her as she had expected, and it seemed they were having a discussion about something. Houndoom was at the center of it, pointing to a map of the island they had laid out on the floor.

"You're back", she immediately focused back on the job she was here to do, "where did that Glameow lead you?"

Houndoom silently pointed with a paw to a spot on the map, and Annette's mind was already churning, analyzing the location, the strategic value of its position, its likely purpose, etc.

"It's in a rundown part of town", she voiced her thoughts aloud, "which means it's probably a smaller post. The location is out of the way, but not ideal, that's a rushed setup if I've ever seen one. But why? Cyrus will know as well as I do that a post that shoddy won't stand for long...That means he doesn't need it to. Crap. Looks like we'll have to deal with that quickly, and maybe accelerate our plans."

She went to bed with a busy mind that night as the first hints of sunlight were already beginning to peek above the horizon to the East.

When she woke up, she was slightly torn. Part of her wanted to ditch the date and focus on adjusting her plans to account for the Galactic listening post, but…some part of her also wanted to let the whole date thing play out. It could be fun, a nice change of pace, maybe keep the media playing their little games. Besides, realistically, she couldn't do anything about the listening post until the tournament got underway in a few days.

Having thus talked herself into it, Annette got up around eleven and fixed herself up. She decided to change up her look, opting for a loose white blouse with simple blue jeans, and a headband. After getting the approval of both Sylveon and Furret she went down and was just in time to meet Lucas in the lobby of her hotel at noon. As it turned out, he had a perfect spot picked out for lunch.

They found window seats at a quaint little deli on a castling street corner. The place was small, relatively cheap, but quite colorful and charming with delicious food to boot.

"I'm impressed", she commented, "Trust the local boy to know the best spot in town."

"Well", he answered, "I've had a few years to learn the city. I'd hope by now I could find a good place for a lunch date."

"Thanks for this, by the way", said Annette as they sat down at their booth, "I never really get to do things like this. I love doing what we do, but it can really suck your soul sometimes."

"I know exactly what you mean", answered Lucas earnestly, with a charming smile, "don't get me wrong, I love working with Manectric all the time, living in the Port, all that; it's just nice to have some casual human company."

"I totally get you", she responded. The waiter came and they ordered food and drink, and when he had gone, Lucas asked, "So, how did you get to be Master Core? I mean, no offense or anything, I'm just super impressed that you've gotten that far so young."

Annette flashed him a slight smirk before she answered his question, "I've been in the underworld a _long_ time. Longer than most. I started out in a small-time Eevee smuggling ring, the Eons, when I was 16. Then I ran with the Bruisers for a while, until the Rockets took Celadon back. I actually…well, I joined up with Team Rocket for a while. I was blind, young, and ambitious, so I made for a perfect Grunt. In fact, I was _too_ ambitious for the Rockets. I saw after a while that they were headed downhill in a hurry, so I left for Hoenn and joined Aqua, before switching to Magma."

Lucas was, well, surprised to say the least;

"Dang. Is there any major criminal organization you _haven't_ been in?"

She snorted, and gave a short, dry laugh, "Heh. Yeah. I never _ever_ went anywhere near Galactic. I knew they were nuts from the get-go, anyone could see that. And Flare and Plasma were a complete joke at the time, nobody in the criminal world took them seriously. After Magma started getting too idealistic for me, I went all the way out to Alola with a friend I'd met in Hoenn. We joined up with Team Skull in its early days, but they got weird too. When the business with the Aether Foundation started I got out. After that I figured it was time to go big, so I went to Orre."

"Orre?"

Lucas leaned forward, intrigued;

"There's literally nothing in Orre _but_ organized crime! How the heck did you get along at that young an age? Cipher would've chewed you up and spit you up!"

"Luckily for me, I was right; by that time I was ready for the big leagues, I had plenty of strong Pokémon. I made some noise battling in The Under, and before long, I was actually working for Cipher, in the Snagem branch, as a Snatcher."

Lucas sat back. Those names were all well-known by those versed in the underbelly of the Pokémon world. Nobody, not the Rockets, not Galactic, _nobody_ was as large or as strong as Cipher…until they were taken down by a traitor within their own ranks.

"You mean…you _stole_ Pokémon from their Trainers?"

For the first time since they started talking, Annette paused and looked down at the table, her face hardening.

"I'm not proud of it, but…yeah. I was never entirely comfortable with it, but I told myself that having a conscience would only get in my way, so I shut it out and did my job."

"When did you get brought into the Network?"

"Right around the time I got near the top of Cipher. I was the second best Snatcher in the business, but the one guy above me started talking to me about the same reservations I had pushed down. He said he'd convinced himself to do something about it, but he didn't tell me what. He just came to my office one day and said, 'Today is the perfect day for you to be anywhere but here, don't you think?' I could tell something wasn't right, and I knew better than to question him, so I left. Later that day, he blew up our whole base."

"I heard about that! That was a few years ago, right? That guy, what was his name…Wes? He was the one who took down the whole Cipher organization from the inside!"

"Yeah. He was my mentor, my inspiration. He did what I was too weak to do. He showed me that no matter how strong a battler I was, it meant nothing if I lacked the strength to act on my conscience. I took it to heart, and struck out on my own. I made absolutely sure I Snatched back all the Pokémon I had stolen and returned them to their Trainers as best I could. It was doing that that caught the eye of the Network, and I've been in now for about three years."

Lucas sat back, impressed.

"Wow", he began, "that's a hell of a story. I just got caught stealing back a friend's Luxio from a bunch of thieves a few years back. The Network got a hold of my story and contacted me. I didn't have anything else going for me at the time, so I figured why not, you know?"

"Why not indeed", smiled Annette.

Their food finally came, and their conversation turned to lighter topics as they enjoyed their scenic lunch date. Once they were finished, Lucas was gracious enough to pay for them both, as promised. He even went so far as to walk her back home again.

"That's twice now that you've walked me home, gallant sir", commented Annette with mild sarcasm outside the hotel.

He responded in kind; "Ah, 'twas the least I could do for a lady in need of an escort!"

"Watch it, Mr. Escort", she laughed, punching him lightly in the shoulder, "or I'll 'escort' you to a good butt kicking. Alright, see you later. Thanks again for everything…I really did have a lot of fun."

She made her way back up to her room, and found her Pokémon waiting anxiously for her there.

"Sylve?"

Sylveon was sitting on the bed, and wrapped her ribbons affectionately around Annette's arm. Pokémon or human, girls will be girls, and Annette giggled uncharacteristically as she related her date to her team. The boys were 'much too cool' to show any interest, so Houndoom and Scizor talked quietly in the corner while Haxorus stared impassively out the window, but Annette, Furret, Raichu and Sylveon lay on the bed and talked over Lucas, the date, their conversation, everything.

When they had finally gone through everything, Annette reminded herself that she needed to do some serious planning for the coming days, especially now that she knew something of Team Galactic's presence in Lily City. Her safest bet would be to wait until the cover of the preliminary rounds, when the most people would be buzzing constantly around the whole city. The high volume of traffic would soften up the half-baked listening post enough for her to take them out in one swoop, leaving Cyrus in the dark – a crucial prerequisite for Operation Phoenix.

That evening, she went back out to the practice fields as 'Cordia', finding yet again that she had no shortage of mediocre challengers that were a perfect light workout for Furret, Raichu, and Sylveon.

Patience had never been her strongest suit, but after a few more agonizingly slow days, brightened slightly by another couple of 'dates' with Lucas, it was time for the Lily of the Valley Conference to kick off in earnest. The streets and hotels were chock full of contestants, their friends and family, high-profile VIP guests, and thousands upon thousands of spectators. It was estimated that over the course of the tournament something like one hundred thousand people would watch the event live in person, to say nothing of the millions who would be tuning in at home.

Annette would likely have been incredibly self-conscious had it not been for her years of experience battling in high stakes matches in the brutal, broiling atmospheres of the Orre Colosseums.

At around 8:00 pm, along with the other 255 Trainers in the tournament, she walked out onto the main Lily Stadium field for the opening ceremonies. Annette was relatively unimpressed with all the pomp and circumstance, especially since the main field they were standing on wouldn't even be used until the quarterfinals.

After some apparently popular Performers and Coordinators put on a show, and some kind of ceremonial torch was lit, Cynthia emerged onto a floating platform to give a speech. Annette's eyes narrowed, her pulse quickening ever so slightly at the sight of the Pokémon Master.

 _Soon_ , she reminded herself. _We're so close, I have to hold it together for a bit longer._

The Champion of Sinnoh held out her hands to ask the crowd for quiet, and then she began, in her inimitably calm but authoritative voice;

"People of Sinnoh, the time has come! We stand once again at the start of another spectacular Lily of the Valley Conference! Like many of you, I have eagerly anticipated this showcase of the unparalleled battling talent that only Sinnoh can produce. This season's battling has already produced more than its share of drama and fascination, and I'm sure we're all looking forward to this fantastic tournament!"

The cheers of the assembled crowd threatened to shake the foundations of the Stadium, and Cynthia waited patiently before continuing;

"Trainers, our honored guests, I address you now directly. On behalf of this great region, I applaud you for your efforts in coming so far as to reach this pinnacle of tournaments. Whether this is your first or tenth Lily of the Valley Conference, we welcome you enthusiastically and we await your displays of skill and power with bated breath. We honor your talent and we wish you all the best of luck", her voice rose in volume and excitement as she reached her dramatic conclusion, "in this…the one hundred and thirty eighth…Lily of the Valley Conference!"

The crowd's energy exploded as though Cynthia had released some kind of pressure valve, and for good reason. The Lily of the Valley Conference was not only the single biggest tournament in Sinnoh; it was the most watched open tournament anywhere in the major Regions.

 _If only these people knew about the free-for-all insanity that is the Orre Colosseum Circuit_ , thought Annette once again with a smirk as she made her way to Port One after the ceremony. She was due to meet with Lucas to go over the plans for the coming weeks. It was to be quite a drawn out affair, as the preliminary rounds themselves would take two weeks.

-o-

"Okay", said Anette, hours later, "one more time. Just to put all the pieces together."

Lucas nodded, took a sip of his homemade margarita, and leaned forward to the massive tournament bracket laid out on the table in front of them.

"Alright", he answered, "so first you've got the group rounds, they'll last two weeks."

"Check. Those are 2 on 2 battles, I'll stick to Furret and Sylveon. That may also be my best chance to take out the Galactic listening post."

"I agree. You'll only have to battle on two days out of those two weeks, and the most people and reporters will be around during that time."

"Okay, that's decided. Next phase."

She sat back, brow furrowed in thought, and sipped her own margarita as Lucas explained the next stage of the Conference, "So your two group phases are actually a bit distinct; the first round has 64 groups of 4, and two people from each group go through. The second round has 32 groups of 4, but you have to win the group to go through to the main bracket."

"Right, that makes sense, advancing gets harder the further you go."

"Yep, that's the idea. The first two knockout rounds are due to take two days each; one for battling, one for rest. Those are 3 on 3 matches, single elimination."

"That's when I add Raichu to the rotation, to save my three heaviest hitters for the last rounds."

"Sounds good. That just leaves the quarters, semis, and the final. Those are the only battles in Lily Stadium proper, full 6 on 6, battles every other day. The last thing you have to consider is that once you hit the bracket, you have to do a media interview after each battle, win or lose."

"Ugh, yeah, don't remind me."

"I wouldn't worry that much, those reporters do this every year, they know how to get the info they need without making it too excruciating."

"Still", she commented. Standing up, she drained the last of her margarita and made her way out, saying, "Thanks for helping me work through my strategy, Lucas. And thanks for the drink; you mix a mean marg. I'm going to head back and hit the sack. Tomorrow is day one."

-o-

'Cordia' presented herself promptly at 8:30 am the next morning at Conference Headquarters. All Trainers were required to check in with their teams before Round 1 groups were announced at 8:45. If she was in one of the early groups, she'd spent the rest of the day battling the other three Trainers in her pool.

She sat silently on one of the benches watching as the rest of the Trainers filed in and reported. Some were confident, and had an arrogant swagger that made them stand out. Others were clearly experienced veterans, with a deeper kind of strength that Annette respected greatly. Still others were both young and nervous, hands trembling as they registered and sat down shakily.

Annette was surprised to see a couple of familiar faces, people she had heard of, and even one or two she had met. The two she was most shocked to see were Gladion – my how he had grown since her days in Alola – and an even dearer friend. Wes himself strolled in casually, and Annette had to stare at the table until she could control the rush of emotions that threatened to break her 'Cordia' character. Wes was here. Last she had heard he was settling down in Agate Village with Rui, what was he doing in the Lily of the Valley Conference? Should she hide? Would he recognize her after the years they'd been apart?

Her wondering was cut short as he made a beeline for her bench, sitting down silently next to her with Umbreon and Espeon padding quietly behind him, as ever. There was a moment of silence between them before Wes spoke,

"So. 'Cordia'? I assume we aren't supposed to have met before?"

"I…you're right", her voice was barely above a whisper, "What are you even doing here? I thought you and Rui were in Agate together."

He grinned and chuckled softly, "I tried to settle down, I really did. Deep down, though, I'll always be addicted to this. The thrill of a massive battle, the crowd, the connection I have with my team, all of it. Rui and I compromised. I spend most of my time with her, but a few times a year I come out to a big event. This, I'll say, is my biggest one yet – outside Orre, at least."

"Hmm. Hey, Wes, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you, but…can I find you later tonight, maybe? So we can talk privately? I want to hear everything, but 'Cordia' doesn't know you and I really need to keep up appearances here."

Wes nodded. He understood perfectly – he'd taught Annette much of what she knew, after all.

"Find me when you're ready. One last thing…I hope we get to battle at some point."

Annette watched him go, her face one more a perfect mask of inscrutable calm. Inside though, she was completely thrown. Seeing Wes was a welcome surprise, but it also meant that there was at least one other entry in the tournament who actually stood a chance at beating her. Perhaps this Conference wouldn't be a cakewalk after all.

She was brought out of her musings by a ding that rang out across the Headquarters. All the Trainers filed into a large auditorium-like room and took their seats to await the Round 1 announcements. Once everyone was in place, a League official got on a microphone, explained the rules (which Annette had already memorized), and then clicked a button on his podium to reveal the groups on a large screen at the front of the auditorium.

Cordia's name and picture appeared in Group 7 next to three people she was unfamiliar with – Daisha, Jesse, and Katy. Presumably because of her sweep of the Iron Island Tournament, Annette was listed as the number 1 seed in her pool, not that it meant much. The official assured them that a personalized card with each Trainer's schedule and relevant information would be available afterwards, and switched the screen to show which groups were scheduled to battle on each stadium on each day. Luckily, Annette was in the set of groups battling that same day on field 7.

Half an hour later, a few thousand people packed into side stadium 7 as Annette lined up for her first battle of the tournament. She'd decided to lead with Sylveon, just on the off chance that Daisha had a potent Ground type up her sleeve. Raichu could undoubtedly handle such an opponent, but she preferred to get through with as little effort as possible.

As she waited for the announcer to get through the pre-battle introductions and rules and such her watch buzzed. It was Lucas;

 _I'm here, ready to see a good Master Core win. –L_

She chuckled, and her ears perked up as her platform began to rise, and she heard outside;

"Arriving as a surprise contender, sweeping through the Iron Island Tournament, please welcome…CORDIA!"

As she had done on Iron Island, she walked into her Trainer box coldly, not acknowledging the crowd in the slightest, though she got a surprisingly enthusiastic reception from the people, some of whom had likely watched her fight Darius.

She stared across the field at Daisha, a dark-skinned, shy looking girl wearing simple shorts and a fashionable purple hoodie.

"Battle…begin!"

"Sylveon, let's go."

Daisha grinned and called on her first Pokémon, "Come on out, Roserade!"

"Sylveon, Quick Attack."

Sylveon shot forward like an arrow across the battlefield, and Daisha responded quickly, "Venoshock!"

"Sylveon, left. Then Swift."

Sylveon's Quick Attack changed directions, carrying her safely out of the path of Venoshock, and giving her time to fire Swift before Roserade could reset itself.

"Come on, Roserade! Magical Leaf!"

"Swift again, Sylveon."

As Swift easily cancelled the Magical Leaf, Annette called, "Quick Attack again, then Tackle."

Roserade was once again undone by its inability to adapt, and took both attacks before Daisha tried a new tactic,

"Leaf Storm!"

"Quick Attack, all around."

Sylveon, by nature, wasn't as fast as some other Pokémon, but she'd trained long and hard and could certainly shake a leg when she had to. She used Quick Attack to cut a wide berth around the oncoming Leaf Storm attack, and came around behind for yet another hit.

"Finish it, Sylveon, Moonblast."

It wasn't terribly effective against the half-Poison Roserade, but it was enough to end the round. As Daisha recalled her fallen Bouquet Pokémon, Sylveon trotted contentedly back to her Trainer, having taken no damage whatsoever.

"Wow, alright", Daisha seemed rather unsure of herself, but soon regained her composure and called out, "Mismagius, you're up!"

Annette smirked; it was almost too easy.

"Dazzling Gleam, Sand Attack."

Sylveon complied perfectly, and Mismagius was already on the back foot.

"Now Moonblast."

Just as Mismagius came floating angrily back to the fight, it was left reeling by Sylveon's notoriously powerful Moonblast.

"Come on Mismagius, please! Magical Leaf!"

Daisha's pleading brought out the tougher side of the Magical Pokémon, and Mismagius' Magical Leaf was certainly a respectable one, but Annette was unmoved.

"Swift, meet it. Then Fairy Wind."

Swift was, once again, the perfectly accurate answer to the unerring Magical Leaf, and in the aftermath, Sylveon's Fairy Wind wreaked havoc on Mismagius' aerial stability.

"Get in there, Mismagius! Shadow Sneak!"

Annette had to admit that Daisha's resourcefulness was impressive. However, she was just unlucky to have come up against an experienced opponent in Round 1. Once again, Annette countered without batting an eye.

"Dazzling Gleam. You know when."

"Vee", answered Sylveon calmly as she waited until just before Shadow Sneak hit before unleashing her best Dazzling Gleam to put Mismagius down one last time, just as it emerged from the shadows. A flawless victory.

Daisha walked ruefully across to congratulate her dominant opponent, and Annette tried to find something consoling to say,

"Your Pokémon are well-trained."

Daisha just shrugged, "I'm not too worried, I still have two more battles to go. Thanks, though."

Annette went straight to her designated spot in the stands to watch the other two competitors in Group 7, ignoring the gaping mouths of her fellow spectators. She settled in to watch, Furret once again curled cozily in her lap, when one small girl approached her cautiously;

"Umm, c-can you sign this? I…I really liked watching how strong you battled. I wanna battle like that when I'm grown up."

The redheaded girl was trembling as she offered a small notebook, holding the inside cover open. Annette was torn; she wanted to encourage the girl, but she reminded herself that 'Cordia' would never be so sentimental. She was about to refuse the girl when another voice called out;

"Misty, come back here", the new voice was downright oozing attitude, "You'll never, like, be that good anyway. Quit, like, bothering her, little sis."

Annette's head whipped towards this new voice to see a few older girls, perhaps young teenagers, cackling at the casual insult of the younger Misty. She turned again to find the youngest sister, who couldn't be older than six or seven, looking absolutely crestfallen as she slowly retracted her small notebook.

Overcome with emotion on the girl's behalf, Annette threw 'Cordia' out the window for one small moment and knelt down to be at Misty's eye level;

"Of course I'll sign your notebook. Your name's Misty?"

"Y-yeah… Thank you!"

Tears formed in the girl's eyes as Annette took her book and wrote in it;

 _To Misty,_

 _Always remember you can do anything, you can be as strong as anybody. Never let others tell you that you can't make it. I believe in you._

 _Sincerely, your friend Cordia_

Handing the book back, Annette put her hand on Misty's shoulder and said, "You are the only one who can decide how strong you'll be. If you work very hard, you can be just as strong as me."

"But…" the young Misty's voice was small, but growing in confidence at the encouragement, "My sisters say that I'll never be as strong as a really good Trainer. What if they're right?"

"You listen to me, Misty", replied Annette rather sternly, "I have full confidence that you can be even stronger than them. It's up to you to put in the work to prove them wrong, alright? Never _ever_ let them get to you. You go be as strong as you possibly can."

A huge smile broke out on Misty's face, and she sprang forward to give Annette the kind of hug only a child can give. Annette wrapped her arms around the little girl for a moment before gently patting her back and sending her back to her sisters, her face still beaming with renewed excitement. The older sisters were silent and embarrassed, having heard the whole exchange. Annette returned calmly to her seat, and returned her attention to the battle, which had started while she was talking to Misty.

As Katy ran riot over Jesse's Pokémon, Annette thought to herself;

 _I really hope she finds an easier path to strength than I did. I'll be rooting for her._

Katy had few problems completing her 2-0 sweep of Jesse's team. It was announced that after a half hour break, 'Cordia' would battle Katy. Since each Trainer had to use the same two Pokémon throughout the entirety of Round 1, Annette knew she'd be up against a Floatzel and a Breloom, and she knew something of her opponent's strategy. However, Katy would now also know about Sylveon and would have seen her fight against Daisha.

 _No wonder they call it the toughest tournament in the Regions_ , Annette remarked to herself, _Even the first round really makes you think. Still nothing like Orre, though._

As she stood in the tunnel waiting to be announced before the fight, she reminisced about her days in the massive Colosseum battles. If you could make it there, you really could make it anywhere – even in Lily of the Valley. She recalled the screaming din of the crowds, filling massive stadiums to overflowing for showcase battles that far exceeded the scope of anything seen in the Regions…

"Here is…CORDIA!"

She shook her head to snap back into focus as her platform rose and she stepped out onto the field. Katy was clearly not overly concerned with self-presentation – she'd opted for nothing more fancy jeans and a faded yellow t-shirt. Her face was what stood out most; she was positively brimming with energy and enthusiasm.

"I've seen your fights", called Katy as she grasped her first Pokéball, "your streak ends here! Come on, Floatzel!"

"Let's see about that. Sylveon, if you please."

Sylveon emerged gracefully, assuming her favorite position, seated presentably in front of Annette. Floatzel, meanwhile, was raring to get going, just like its Trainer. It barked eagerly and settled into a battle-ready crouch, until Katy called out the first move;

"Aqua Jet, close in quick!"

"Meet it, Sylveon, Quick Attack."

Katy's brows furrowed, she'd most likely expected some attempt to dodge. Sylveon instead met the Aqua Jet attack head on with a Quick Attack. The collision sent Floatzel sprawling backwards awkwardly until it quickly regained its balance. Sylveon merely gave her head a small shake and brushed herself off with a fluttering ribbon.

"Now Fairy Wind."

Floatzel was smashed over again just as it stood back up from the collision, and it looked to the audience as though the Water-type was about to be smashed by one of Sylveon's now infamous combinations, but Katy was sharper than that and called out quickly.

"Razor Wind, hit it back!"

Floatzel's Razor Wind wasn't nearly enough to overpower the Fairy Wind, but it stalled the attack enough to give Floatzel an opportunity to escape, as Katy called once more,

"Aqua Jet, get out of there!"

Floatzel's speed was impressive, and it just managed to escape the Fairy onslaught. Annette however, had already thought of an answer;

"Moonblast. Then Swift."

Katy's Pokémon had been completely focused on getting away from Fairy Wind, and was hit full force by Moonblast, which was followed flawlessly by Swift.

"Alright, Floatzel", called Katy after taking a breath to power through her nerves, "it's time! Just like we practiced, let's give it our all!"

Floatzel was breathing quite heavily, but disregarded its weariness to launch another Aqua Jet attack. Annette mentally prepared for whatever trick may be coming, and then sprung the trap;

"Sylveon, once more. Meet it."

"Now, Floatzel! Veer left, Hydro Pump!"

Rather than taking the hit again, Katy's Sea Weasel Pokémon broke off and turned sharply left, firing a Hydro Pump as Sylveon went flying past.

"Keep going, Sylveon", called Annette quickly, "and come around."

"Catch up, Floatzel, you can hit it!"

Knowing Sylveon would take a hit if she didn't work out soon how to get away from Hydro Pump, Annette tried a less conventional tactic;

"Hit the deck! Then Dazzling Gleam!"

Sylveon dropped flat onto the ground – not a moment too soon, as the Water attack flew over her head. Before Floatzel could adjust its aim, the Fairy type fired off her Dazzling Gleam, which successfully interrupted the Hydro Pump, as Katy's Pokémon reeled backwards, covering its eyes.

"Capitalize, Sylveon, Sand Attack!"

Floatzel barked in distress as the Sand Attack furthered its inability to see properly.

"Now, Sylveon, wrap it up! Moon Wind!"

A Moonblast and a Fairy Wind from an incredibly strong Fairy type was more than enough to finish off the unfortunate Floatzel. Katy frowned briefly before reigniting her inner fire and calling out,

"I was never one for an easy battle, anyway! Come on, Breloom!"

Sylveon regarded the Mushroom Pokémon carefully. She'd fought its kind before, she knew they were more dangerous than they appeared, much like herself. Annette's mind was already working. For Breloom to be truly effective it would have to get in close. Katy didn't seem overly patient, so playing the range game was her best bet.

"Let's not get fancy here, Sylveon. Moonblast."

Breloom was caught off guard, and took the super effective hit right off the bat. Katy, however, was smart enough to know how to compete against opponents using ranged attacks;

"Seed Bomb, and keep it up!"

"Swift, deflect them."

Sylveon looked like a skeet shooter using Swift to knock the Seed Bombs out of the air. After a couple of Seed Bombs, Breloom began surreptitiously taking steps towards Sylveon, trying to use the barrage of attacks to disguise its approach.

 _That's clever_ , thought Annette, _but not clever enough._

"Dazzling Gleam in between, Sylveon, then Quick Attack away."

In between the next two incoming Seed Bombs, Sylveon let off a quick Dazzling Gleam. It wasn't full power, but it was enough to disrupt Breloom, giving Annette's Pokémon the split second she needed to escape the approaching Breloom. When the Mushroom Pokémon recovered from its brief disorientation to find its target had seemingly vanished, it turned around frantically, only to be hit by another Moonblast, which was enough to end the battle.

The crowd roared appreciatively at the intelligent battle they'd seen, and the two battlers met in the middle of the field to shake hands.

"I guess I should count myself lucky", Katy commented ruefully, "if they only took the group winner from Round 1, I'd be done for. I'll make sure and grab that 2 spot – maybe we'll meet up again in the knockouts! I'd love a full rematch."

"That'd be great", Annette agreed, "You're a smart battler with a resourceful team."

Katy waved cheerfully to the spectators while Annette walked off the field to go back to her designated spot in the stands to see Daisha's fight against Jesse.

From the battles that had already been fought, it was fairly clear that 'Cordia' and Katy would be going through from the group, but Daisha and Jesse still fought a spirited match for the audience to watch.

As it turned out, Daisha just barely beat Jesse, which put extra impetus on the upcoming fight between Katy and Daisha. The winner of that match would take the second spot in the next round, but Annette's fight against Jesse was of little importance. She was already in and he was already out.

As she awaited her last bout of the day, Annette considered her position. Her victory against Katy meant that she was 2-0, and guaranteed a spot in Round 2. Jesse, her final opponent, was already officially out, there was no way for him to finish in the top half of the group.

"Furret", she addressed her lifelong friend casually just before her platform began to rise, "you've got this one. We'll let Sylveon have a rest, she's done plenty of great work today. Nice and easy, alright?"

"Furret furr", replied the Long Body Pokémon wrapped comfortably around her neck, feigning offense at the insinuation that she would have any difficulty.

"Oh, get over yourself, showoff", replied the Trainer with a grin as they at last emerged into the sunlight of Stadium 7 for one last Round 1 matchup.

Jesse was a rather flamboyant young man wearing a strange, but very brightly colored outfit with what could be construed as undue confidence.

"Ah", he sighed as they shook hands, "Cordia, the crown jewel of Group 7, it is my honor to battle your magnificent team this day."

"Uh-huh…Same to you, I'm sure. Shall we?"

"Indeed!" Jesse exclaimed with a flourish as they returned to their Trainer boxes, "let us delay no longer! I may be eliminated, but the show goes on!"

With an exasperated shake of her head, Annette addressed her Pokémon, "Okay, Furret, get on out there. Let's do this."

Furret meandered out to the field while Jesse flipped a Pokéball out and cried, "Lickilicky! Into battle!"

The large pink Pokémon appeared and struck a pose not unlike its Trainer before reverting to a more battle-ready position.

"Lickilicky, Power Whip!"

"Furret, Dig. Quick release."

Like a flash, Furret burrowed underneath the attempted Power Whip and slammed into her larger opponent from underneath before it had a chance to anticipate the attack. Lickilicky rolled awkwardly backwards from the impact, and Annette capitalized;

"Iron Tail, then Hyper Voice."

"Recover, Lickilicky, as fast as you can! Screech!"

Screech was a good thought, but Furret gave the Licking Pokémon no time to recover, smacking it with Iron Tail as it tried to right itself. The larger Pokémon managed to find its feet by allowing its momentum to finish its backward roll, but Screech was again cut off by Furret's Hyper Voice.

As LIckilicky was again bowled over, Jesse tried a new strategy;

"Defense Curl!"

It was a strange way to use the move, but it was oddly successful. By using Defense Curl while rolling, Lickilicky saved itself from taking any additional damage until it could set up again. Unfortunately, 'Cordia' was both intelligent and relentless.

"Quick Attack in close, Furret, then Sucker Punch, Slash, Pursuit. Make this thing a giant pink pinball."

The crowd gave an audible gasp than turned into wild applause as Furret complied expertly, flashing here there and everywhere, using all the moves Annette had called in quick succession to bat Lickilicky back and forth from all sides. When Furret at last was done, Lickilicky collapsed on the spot, down without question.

"Very well", said Jesse, "I'm proud of your effort, Lickilicky. Now, Ambipom, into battle!"

Out came the Long Tail Pokémon, and 'Cordia' went straight to work once more. Jesse tried to call a move, but she read it perfectly.

"Slam, Ambipom! Show them speed!"

Ambipom was indeed fast, but Annette had expected that;

"Too easy. Grass Knot."

This was perhaps Furret's most unexpected move, and Ambipom hit the ground hard, due partly to its size and mostly due to its momentum. It got up with difficulty, shaking its head with a grimace.

"Astonish", called Jesse, trying something new.

"Two can play that game. Pursuit, Furret."

Ambipom flashed in front of the spot Furret had just occupied, but she was already gone, reappearing behind Ambipom to put it back on the ground.

"Perfect. Now Hyper Voice."

Ambipom flew with considerable force into the far wall of the stadium, and was knocked out.

 _That was probably my easiest win yet. Still, Sylveon did well in her two fights. It's not fair to compare her to Furret – we've been together for almost two decades, Sylveon's had half that time._

She shook hands with Jesse and went back to watch with mild interest as Katy and Daisha battled for a spot in Round 2. Daisha put up a quality fight, but Katy was too wily, and her Pokémon had too much adaptability. She took the fight, 2-1, and then the Tournament Official overseeing Group 7 invited all four Trainers onto the field.

"First", he called over the speaker, "let us congratulate all of our participants for a scintillating day of battles! Let's hear it, for Cordia, Katy, Daisha, and Jesse!"

A whooping round of applause echoed through Stadium 7 from the respectable number of people watching, and soon a chant grew from the assembled onlookers;

"COR-DI-A! COR-DI-A!"

 _It seems I've become a crowd favorite_ , thought Annette, suppressing a grin.

"And now", called the official, "now, we shall announce the day's results!"

A hush fell. Everyone already knew, of course, but there was something magical about hearing it officially confirmed.

"As a reminder, ladies and gentlemen, only our top two Trainers will earn a place in the next round. Now, without further ado! In fourth place, please give it up for…Jesse!"

Jesse accepted his loss gallantly, bowing and smiling at the courteous applause before listening politely to the official as he continued,

"And in third place, put your hands together for Daisha!"

She sniffled, and with teary eyes waved appreciatively to the people.

"The second place finisher from Group 7, moving on to Round 2, congratulations to Katy!"

Katy pumped her fist, unconcerned about losing to 'Cordia'. She was just thrilled to be moving on, which was understandable.

 _Remember_ , thought Annette to herself, _Cordia doesn't react…_

"Finally, in first place, let's have a big cheer for our Group 7 winner, with a perfect 3-0 record…CORDIA!"

She remained dead-faced, not acknowledging the crowd's noise, which was much louder than it had been for any of her three opponents. When the applause and cheering subsided, the other three Trainers left the stadium, but Annette hung back, excusing herself on the pretext of having to get something she'd left in her booth. She'd stashed her backpack there, which contained a fresh outfit to change her appearance enough to get her back to her hotel unnoticed.

She found an unoccupied bathroom, and put on a moderate grey skirt with a white shirt under a matching grey blazer. Adding a pair of glasses and a forged media pass, she looked the part of one of the many reporters flurrying around Lily Island looking for an unnoticed potential story. Her final touch was a clipboard she pulled from her pack, and a pair of red wedges. Satisfied with her latest cover, she left the stadium through the media tunnel.

Her first stop was Port 1. After passing through the complex identity check system, she walked into the familiar living space and heard Lucas' voice from a back room;

"Just a second, I'll be right with you!"

She waited for a second until he emerged, saying;

"Hey Ann – whu? Who are… Oh! Oh, dang, that's really good! You had me for a second, there."

Smirking as she played her part, Annette shoved an imaginary microphone into Lucas' face;

"Mr. West! Can you comment on your alleged girlfriend's latest performances?"

"Oh, very funny. Is that really what they're saying?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. Turn on the news, I bet we'll be mentioned within an hour."

"Eh", Lucas looked embarrassed, "I'll take your word for it. Anyway, what brings you here?"

Annette flopped onto the couch and explained,

"Well, first, I'm just _exhausted_ from being 'Cordia' all day. She's way too intense. Second, I need to find somebody. A friend."

Lucas' curiosity was piqued, "Use whatever you need. Am I allowed to ask who this 'friend' is?"

A ghost of a smile played on the young woman's lips as what seemed like half a lifetime's worth of memories flashed through her head;

"…Wes. Wes is here."

"Wait, Wes? Are we talking about… _the_ Wes? The Wes that took down the world's biggest criminal organization from the inside? _That_ Wes is here?"

"Yep, sure is. And he's in the Conference."

Lucas visibly blanched, "That…makes your whole 'must win the Conference' plan a bit harder, doesn't it?"

"Yeah", answered Annette with a sigh, "The guy who taught me everything. Now I have to beat him. He's the only person I know who stands a chance at beating me, and I can't afford to lose. That's part of why I need to find him."

Lucas wordlessly pointed her to the main computer, and within minutes she had found Wes' hotel and room number. The two Network agents shared a cup of coffee as Annette put her feet up on the couch and relaxed for the first time since that morning. She hung out with Lucas for about an hour until she was reasonably sure Wes would be at his hotel before she once again assumed her reporter disguise and headed out.

It took a good fifteen minutes to reach the hotel her old friend was staying at (she was unaccustomed to walking around in heels of any kind). She stopped outside the room, shut her eyes, and took a breath. After forcing herself to relax, she knocked on the door, and waited with a smile until he opened up;

"Hello, Wes! My name is Jana from the Daily Lily, I just had a few questions for you; may I come in?"

"Why certainly", replied the Orre native, playing along perfectly in case of surveillance, "I'm happy to provide you with a story worth writing. Make yourself at home!"

She entered with a polite nod, and he shut the door behind her. As soon as the door was closed they both burst out laughing, and Annette flung herself into his strong arms.

"Oh, Annie", he began with a soft chuckle, "it's so, _so_ good to see you! It's been too long. Your disguises are improving, by the way. This reporter getup is much more convincing than anything you managed back in the day."

She pulled out of their embrace with a huge grin, and replied, "I just kept asking myself how to be more like you, Pops."

"Annie, you're a regular flatterer. I'd say you're probably better than me these days at most of – are you crying?"

She sniffed, and wiped her eyes, "N-no…It's just that it's been so long! I missed you so much. After Cipher I – I started doing the right thing, like you showed me, but without you it was so _lonely_ …I've never met anyone else like you, Pops. Now I show up and here you are, in the Conference, and…I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting it and it's kind of overwhelming…"

He hugged her again, gently, and stroked her hair. He knew how it must have been for her. She'd learned to be so tough that nobody second guessed her, but inside her still lived a little girl who'd never gotten the chance to grow up normally, with people who cared for her. That was why he'd taken her under his wing, become her 'Pops'. He saw her potential for great good; she'd only needed the proper encouragement.

"Let's sit and talk", he said quietly after a minute, giving her space to recover her composure, "Tell me a story. What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this? What do you want with Cynthia?"

Annette's eyes narrowed, "How…what makes you think I need to get to Cynthia?"

"Did you forget I taught you how to think? What else would you need that you couldn't get any other way without alerting the underground folks?"

"I…you're right, of course. I need to get to Cynthia without turning heads. That's why I invented Cordia when I showed up on Iron Island to earn a spot here."

"Let me guess", Wes cut in, "you're here to make sure we're on the same page because I'm the only one you're scared of losing to? I'm honored, but I know how to play along. You don't have to ask me to lose if we meet in the knockouts; I've got a better idea."

"I'm all ears, Pops."

"If we meet we'll both battle our hardest, put on a show, the whole bit. Make it real. No matter who wins, I have confidence that one of us will win this tournament. If it's you, your plan works out perfectly. If it's me, I'll decline my visit and offer it to you, so either way, you get to Cynthia. This way, you've got an insurance policy – two shots to get to her instead of just one."

"You'd do that for me?"

Wes smiled and put a hand on his protégé's shoulder, "What kind of Pops would I be if I didn't back your play, Annie? What do you say, partners one more time?"

"Yes. One for old times' sake. Thanks so much, Pops, this means a lot to me, it's very important."

"Of course. Now you'd best get going, I think Jana from the Daily Lily has everything she needs to write a good story, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah", she smirked, "she's probably got enough to write a book by now. I'll see you again soon, right?"

"Oh, I'm certain we'll cross paths at some point. Goodbye, Annie, it was great to catch up a bit."

"Bye Pops."

Annette hurried back to her hotel, and shared the good news with her Pokémon – they all knew Wes as well as she did, she'd already had all of them by the time she arrived in Orre. They were as thrilled as she was that 'Pops' was in the Conference, and very hopeful that they could meet him in a knockout battle. Sylveon in particular relished the chance to reunite with Wes' Umbreon (she'd always had something of a crush on the Dark-type).

All of a sudden the most difficult operation of her Network career looked infinitely more hopeful. She had a valuable ally in Lucas, and a fellow conspirator in the Conference itself – her best friend and mentor, her very own Pops. Wes was here to help her when she needed it most.

As she settled in for the night, her mind turned eagerly to thoughts of the long road ahead. The next step, now that she was safely through Round 1, was to take out that Galactic listening post…

 **Author's Note: This took a while due to my own crazy life, so my bad there. That being said, what do you think? The Misty shoutout just kind of happened, I rather enjoy it. Tell me what you think of Wes' appearance, see if you can guess what role he'll play later – if you guess right, I'll tell you so!**

 **I don't own things. Thank you everyone for reading, seriously! I'm honored that people really want to read these stories, I love writing! If you enjoy it, drop a fav/follow to keep yourself up to date as I continue. I love hearing from readers, via message, review, whatever! Cheers, all!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Your Move

Chapter 4 – Your Move

Once she'd secured passage to Round 2 of the Conference, Annette's entire focus was on taking out the Galactic post. She was guaranteed a week without battling, at least, so time was on her side.

It was now nighttime on Conference Day 3 (the opening ceremonies and her Round 1 fights had taken place on Day 1), and she sat cross-legged on the floor of Port 1, in front of a messy sprawl of maps, a half-finished bottle of beer off to her right side.

"Annette? Do you want to-" Lucas was cut off abruptly by the Master Core, who asked her own question;

"How often does this office building rotate guards?"

She was pointing to a building adjacent to the Galactic post, on one of the three almost identical maps laid out before her.

"Which one? Oh, that…umm, I think they're on 4-hour shifts. I want to say they start the rotation at 8pm, but I'm not positive. Hey, listen, do you think you should-"

"Do they run any outdoor patrols?"

"Outdoor? Umm, no, most places here don't-"

"Okay. It's not perfect, but I have a plan."

She took a satisfied swig of her beer and Lucas persisted, trying to get his question in once more;

"Great, I'd love to hear it, but first don't you want to eat something?"

"Huh? Eat?" Annette looked up at him, confused, as if she was coming out of a trance, "Wait, what time is it?"

"Annette, it's almost 10:00. You haven't had dinner."

"No way, really? Oh, crap, you're right…Sorry, I guess that happens sometimes when I'm really working a problem like this."

Lucas shrugged, "Hey, no worries, I get it. Just wanted to make sure you eat eventually. Here, I made burgers. Don't tell me your plan until you've eaten one."

She stuck her tongue out at him, but gratefully took a plate and picked out one of the burgers he offered her.

Now that she was done with her planning (for the time being, at least) Annette found she really was starving. She wolfed down that burger and was halfway through another before she slowed down enough to begin unfolding her plan for taking down the Galactic listening post.

"So", she began, leaning forward, "I'm going to need your help to kick this thing off. You're going to play a desperate drunk guy, alright? I'm going to be a guard from that next door office building and-"

"Wait, whoa, hold on! Why am I a raging drunk now?"

"Oh grow up, Lucas, it's just a part. You don't have to actually get drunk. Though, if you have a beer or something beforehand, so the smell's on your breath that might help… Anyway, just do it. Come on, I need you to get me to the door."

"How does me being a street-wandering drunkard help you get to the Galactic listening post? Tell me that."

"Easy. You walk up and bang on the door. Maybe shout some girl's name, like you think she lives there. Maybe pretend you're sorry for something you did and you want her back. Whatever, just make a big noise. I, as an alert and thoughtful night guard at this building, will walk over to try and calm you down. We'll talk for a few seconds, and then I knock on the door of the listening post, just to check if they're alright. See?"

"…Okay, I see how that works, but you're literally the best operative in the Network. Why can't you just sneak in?"

"They can't see me coming until it's too late. I can't slip in past their sensors, which they'll have on every window and door. I can't knock out the sensors without turning off power to that whole four-block area, and that would be a huge giveaway. Faking my way in is the only viable way. Look, I wouldn't make you do this if there was any other way."

"Fine. But only because it's for Operation Phoenix."

So, it was decided. The sting was scheduled for the following night, at precisely 1:17am.

 **Day Four**

Annette spent the majority of the day appearing across town as 'Cordia', to provide some weak sense of alibi, just in case. She ate an early dinner and holed herself up in her hotel room to rest and prepare.

At midnight, she strutted up to the office building next to the Galactic post in a guard uniform, and swiped her forged security card.

 _Ding!_

A green light flashed and she pushed open the door to begin her 'guard shift'. She spent the hour patrolling the side of the building closest to the listening post, to get any view of it that she could. Once she was inside, she'd be almost totally blind; there was no way to prepare a plan without scoping out the actual inside of the post.

The first red flag jumped out at her when she saw that the building where the post was supposed to be was totally dark. There was no sign of movement whatsoever.

 _That's odd…Maybe they're in the basement? Or maybe they wised up and aren't using exterior facing rooms. Still, that's not what I expected. Something feels off…_

She turned over this wrinkle for the remainder of her shift until her watch read 1:15. She made her way quickly to the lobby, as if she were patrolling through there next. She nodded curtly to the guard behind the front desk, and then heard Lucas outside, right on schedule;

"MILA! Mila, Mila, Mila…You have t' listen! Mila… Where's you at, Mila?!"

The desk guard made to get up and check on the commotion, but Annette said authoritatively,

"I'll handle it, don't get up. I'll be back as soon as I can move him along."

She pushed quietly out the front door, and walked up to the stumbling Lucas, who'd brought along an empty whiskey bottle to sell the bit. By the smell of him, he'd actually drunk some of the whiskey, too.

"Sir", she began, "Sir, I need you to calm down, okay?"

Lucas looked at her, winked, and half-walked, half-fell to the door of the listening post;

"No! I gotta see Mila, she neeeeds me! An' I hafta tell her I'm soooo soooorrryyyy!"

He banged obnoxiously on the unyielding door, and Annette made a big show of trying to corral him, just in case anyone inside was watching.

"There's no Mila here, sir, that building's abandoned. Come on, go home."

"Aban…Mila left me? No, she…she wouldn't never ever leave me behind, nooooo!"

"Please, sir, just move along. You've got the wrong place. Mila doesn't live here. Uh, try down the road?"

"Down the…? What road's she livin' on?"

Annette pushed him off down the sidewalk, sending him stumbling/spinning away.

"Try that one. If she's not there, go home!"

Shaking her head at Lucas' antics with some amount of genuine amusement, Annette turned to face the listening post.

 _Okay_ , she thought, _let's hope that did the trick._

She knocked on the door and yelled, "Hello? Hello, open up, security! Is everybody okay in there?"

There was no answer. _That's alright, that's okay, umm…I'll just have to use more force._

She gritted her teeth and shouldered her way through the flimsy metal lock, one hand on her 'guard-issue' pistol, the other turning on her flashlight.

"Hello? Is anybody-"

Her heart sank almost immediately. There was a huge, bright-yellow G spray painted on the wall, but it had been crossed out.

 _Did…some local thugs force them out?_

She crept closer, acutely aware of the eerie silence. There was a single sticky note in the middle of the crossed out G. The note read: 'Try upstairs'.

 _This feels all wrong…_

She knew it had to be come kind of trap. Her mind was racing.

 _They could still be surveilling this building. I can salvage this, but only if they still think I'm some nobody guard in the wrong place._

Accordingly, she whipped out her pistol and made a big show of 'clearing the room', yelling along as she went;

"Hello? Hello, is anybody in here? This is security personnel, is anybody here?"

She knew it was futile. There was nobody but her in the building, Galactic were better than that, at least. But she had to keep up appearances. In her world, paranoia was a gift, not a curse. One extra precaution was the difference between survival and…a painful alternative.

Slowly, she made her way through the building towards the top floor, her flashlight sweeping this way and that. What she saw on the way up would have set anyone else's skin crawling. Lights, swinging loosely from their fixtures, flickered half-heartedly on and off, giving shadowy glimpses of computer wreckage and general destruction. Annette found she was stepping on and over bits of twisted metal that had once been desks, or chairs. Most sections had clearly been blasted, or even melted. The whole scene was almost pitch black, with Annette's flashlight the only piece of technology still operable.

 _They knew something, or someone, was coming. They were eliminating any possible evidence and also sending a message._

She arrived at the top floor. Stepping around the ruins of what was once a high-tech office space, she found exactly one desk, seemingly untouched by the mayhem around her. What she saw on the desk made even her blood run cold.

It was a finger. A human finger. Another note lay next to it;

'This man ordered the ambush that led you to us. He will know better next time.'

Her breath caught in her throat and she took an instinctive step backwards. She spotted, out of the corner of her eye, something on the wall behind the desk.

It was another sticky note. Shakily, she crept around the desk, and read two words;

'Your move'.

"EEAAAHHH!"

-o-

"Shit", it was three hours later, and Annette was sitting on the couch in Port 1, "shit, shit, shit…"

Three bottles of alcohol – she didn't know or care what kind – lay empty next to her, and she was well on her way through a fourth. Despite all of this, nothing seemed to stop her hands from shaking.

"How the hell could they…I mean, they just…A _finger_?"

Lucas sat across from her, with absolutely no idea what to say. Annette had come sprinting back to Port 1 after her failed raid, almost too hysterical to get through the identity check system. She'd had to tell Lucas the story three times over before he could even understand; much less react to the horror of what she'd seen.

Annette hardly seemed to notice he was there, though. She just kept speed talking;

"I mean, I've seen some crazy shit in my time, but that was – I mean, that was like one of those stupid damn horror movies in real life. They chopped off that guy's damn _finger_! They freaking left it on that damn desk in the dark as a _message_! Shit! How freaking crazy can these psychos _get_?"

She paused and took a long swig from her bottle, which was now almost empty, before leaning forward and hurling what little was left in her stomach into the trash can Lucas had long since placed in front of her. She sat back, still trembling, staring off into space. The physical discomfort she felt didn't even register in her brain – it was like she had short-circuited.

Lucas was still wordless. He could hardly comprehend the insanity of the night's events, and he hadn't even been there to see it. He couldn't – and didn't want to – imagine what it was like for Annette to have actually experience that, firsthand. Even someone as experienced and hardened as her had to be reeling mentally.

At long last, after another two bottles, sometime around 5:30am, she passed out on the couch, still muttering to herself; "Shit…A finger on a desk…in the dark…what the hell…"

 **Lucas**

He knew he should get some rest while he could. Annette was going to need a lot of care and patience when she woke up. But somehow he couldn't. He hadn't been there, but the mental image that she'd given him was burned fiercely into his mind, and he couldn't sleep. Instead, he did the only thing he could without going crazy; he set to planning.

He turned on all his screens and began typing out every half-brained thought he could muster. Eventually, he found one detail of Annette's story that offered a glimmer of hope to the two Network operatives;

 _Your move_ , he thought to himself, _Why would they say that? If they really had us figured, they wouldn't tell us 'Your move'. They'd give us a warning, something to scare us off permanently. They weren't warning us away_ , he realized, _that was some twisted sign of respect! A criminally insane one, but at least it proves they don't know who we are, and they don't want to mess with us. This…could work out after all! If they don't know who we are, we can use that!_

"Your move, huh?" Lucas muttered to himself, "Our move indeed…"

 **Author's Notes: So, this story has, for now, taken a back seat to Milo and the Blue Umbreon, but I pieced this chapter together, so I figured I might as well post it. This was supposed to be longer and not nearly as dark, but this kind of happened in a stroke of inspiration, so I went with it. The point of the dark tone of this chapter is to show that this story's incarnation of Galactic is** _ **not**_ **kidding around. They're seriously crazy, and worth being scared of.**

 **That all said, tell me what you thought! I really love hearing from readers, be it encouragement or (constructive) criticism! Help me improve the story! Thanks for reading, cheers all!**


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